The Tomes
by m3ch4
Summary: FFII NES: All of those Tomes found throughout the world of Final Fantasy II came from somewhere, Mysidia. Learn the origins, uses, and hazards of magick. T-Rated Themes. Reviews greatly appreciated.
1. Mysidian Letter

Author's Note:

Hey its m3ch4, yeah I decided to put my Final Fantasy IV fiction on hold for a bit. Why? Out of ideas that's why and when I began writing this fiction I was in the middle of my playthrough of the first six Final Fantasies, notably II.

After looking at it for a bit, somehow I'm now compelled to write about the descriptions of the spells. Somewhere else on the site, there was an interesting take on this subject but it was soon abandoned, so now, I feel like I should do something with that.

In Final Fantasy II (the real one), there are over thirty spells, so I'll have my hands full, but rest assured, unless something extremely monumental occurs, I will finish this one. (Meaning I would then have one completed work on this site).

Rather than just going on about what the spell does, I will go into depth on everything about the spell. This will be as if written by the very mage's of Mysidia. (with commentary :) ) [I don't own Final Fantasy or any of its characters]

The Tomes

After much debate, the Mysidian council has come to the conclusion of how we will now conduct magickal affairs with the general public. Instead of having a representative from our country in every town or nation distributing spells in exchange for monetary gains, we have decided to take a liberal step and create magick tomes for those not adept in magick.

True, we have always had tomes to practice our magicks, but we feel that having so many of our people in other countries would strain our resources. Now, with these tomes, anyone in a nation can petition from their leaders to purchase these books which contain an in depth study about particular spells as well as instruction on use of the spell and practicing it written by experts on such magick.

To the nations we send these tomes to: it is up to you to decide who can and cannot use these magicks responsibly and we will hold you to your word, if you cannot meet our standards, then we may then revoke the availability of spells to you or all of them in us see the situation demand it. First and foremost, we will not provide all spells to you as there are some that would be to dangerous to even possess, but can be requested upon certain circumstances.

As of now, there is only one complete set of The Tomes, and we at Mysidia possess it. Many copies of The Tomes are being created, but we must regretfully inform you that there are some spells that will not be included even with a petition. All others will be deficient of these spells, but we have our reasons. Please do not take this action as one of insult of condescension.


	2. Introduction

The Tomes: Introduction

To the newest practitioner of the magic arts,

We would like to welcome you and congratulate you on your decision to pursue skills in magic. The Tomes is a collection of books that contain the various instructions and education of spells currently available. We at Mysidia have chosen our two most knowledgeable mages to elaborate on the spells in a way that best suites those new to magic. We know that not everyone can be able to make the long trek to our nation, be it monetary or safety reasons, so that is why we have chosen to write this series known as The Tomes.

For your instruction on the white magics we have the High White Mage Iv, a mage who had always shown a disposition to the white arts ever since she enrolled at our schools in Mysidia. Her understanding of white magic should prove invaluable to your advancement in casting white magic. As for your instruction in the other school, black magic, we have our High Black Mage Ebon, who has the most in depth perception of the mechanics as to how the various black magics function.

-The Mysidian Arch Mage


	3. Cure

The Tomes: Section I The Elementary Spells: Cure

To the newest practitioner of the magick arts,

Welcome to the school of magick and its understanding, first and foremost I must introduce myself. I am Iv the High White Mage at Mysidia, and I will be guiding you into an introduction into magick. I know you are eager to learn about the various spells, but we must first broaden your understanding of magick and its use.

One must first understand that learning a spell takes time and a considerable amount of energy, simply because one can cast a spell, it does not mean that one is truly efficient at said spell. It will take time to master this and other spells. Through much training though, you too can eventually master a spell after enough time. Depending on your experience with a spell, you may be able to weave in more effects with the spell. Another thing I should not is that as the spells get more powerful, they will also require more energy from the caster, but do not worry about this too much because after enough time, one will have enhanced the amount of mana available to them. Just be sure to take note of your own limits. Now to embark on the experience of white magick.

Cure is the most basic spell any mage can learn, although it is a white magick, many black mages anew are also asked to learn this spell early on. This spell essentially allows the target to heal at an extraordinary rate, much faster than if they were left on their own, that said this is most likely the most valuable spell one can have while traveling. Please note that this is a spell of healing, not living. Try as one might, this spell does not cause immortality if it is cast constantly on one with failing health, we all must die someday, and the spell only acts as an accelerator of one's own healing potential, not life force.

To cast this spell, one must focus magickal energy by concentrating on and envisioning the body of the target repairing itself. With more practice, the rate in which the body is healed will be increased. Remember that this spell can be applied to multiple targets simultaneously and to yourself, but take note that multiple targets will either mean more mana spent or less of an effect.

"The healing arts I now invoke and rend, use your energies on allies to mend! Cure!"

Finally, it should be noted that Cure has the ability to harm the undead that sometimes wander crypts or other places where souls may be corrupt or restless. I personally prefer this mean of disposing the undead as to other, odorous, solutions that you will learn about in the future.

-Iv, High White Mage


	4. Fire

The Tomes: Section I The Elementary Spells: Fire

To the newest practitioner of the magick arts,

Welcome to the world of magick and its applications. I am Ebon, the High Black Mage at Mysidia, one who has had many years of experience with the effects and applications of various spells. I am grateful of this opportunity to introduce you to the world of black magick.

First I must say that simply because the school is known as black magick, that does not imply that the magick users themselves are evil. The term came about due to the classification of the types of effects that our spells produce, more detrimental and dangerous. One should not fear the spells themselves, but the caster because it is just as likely for a good hearted person to wield black magick as it is an evil individual to be skilled with the healing arts and other white magicks.

My colleague Iv, wrote in the previous tome concerning the Cure spell about mana, I wish now to elaborate more on what this is as I know that to the magickal novice, this is vital. Mana is the fuel used in casting spells, the stronger the spell, the more mana there is needed to cast it. All of us have an amount of mana that surrounds us, those who become more skilled with magick have a denser mana field around themselves. As to where mana comes from, many mages have debated that mana is not so much a physical material as the air or water, but rather air, water, fire, and the earth are all physical manifestations of an energy, mana that has been argued to have been a constant energy that cycles through its use to belief that there are conduits that leak mana itself into our world in the form of large crystals. Returning to the subject of one's own mana field, it would be apparent that even after extended spell casting, the mana around the caster will then dwindle, and then comes the matter of replenishing it. Just as one can become physically exhausted, one can become mentally exhausted as well, so the solution in most cases to replenish the field of mana around yourself would be to sleep. There are also some items at shops, although quite expensive, call ethers that allow for miniscule replenishing of mana if one is in the heat of battle, or cannot afford to sleep at the current time.

Now it is time for your instruction on your first spell, Fire. Like Cure, this is a spell that is often taught to all incoming mages of mysidia, black and white alike. This spell helps all students grasp and understanding on the black school of magick. Fire is also the most critical spell in the three "elemental" not to be confused with the term elementary as used for the basic spells of both schools. The other two are Thunder, which I feel is an improper term considering that is the word for the sound, and Blizzard. Fire in a sense is one of the easier spells to cast in that it is easier for the beginning caster to channel their energy into that which is combusted energy itself. To cast fire, one must understand how fire itself occurs and works. Through rapid movements or high friction, one would be able to start an ordinary fire, with this spell, one must channel the energy of the spell into the friction needed to spark a fire. The other component of fire is that it needs fuel to burn. Aside from the target itself, the majority of the fuel needed to create projectile forms of fire would be the energy itself of mana used in the spell casting.

"Magic energies give me a torch, to see clearly or to scorch! Fire!"

Like other spells, this one will take some time to master, and should not be dismayed in how they first cast their spells, one of the problems I have seen with many new mages is that they have trouble figuring out how to form the fire into an attack, which by the way is probably one of the most useful magick attacks in that many monsters in the world are like all living things and are susceptible to being burned unless they happen to have developed defenses against fire. One of the early ways to wield the spell effectively is to form the spell as small flaming streaks that pass by the target. Although the chances of actually setting the target on fire are low, these streaks should be able to have enough heat to scorch the surface of the target.

Once you feel comfortable wielding and shaping fire this way, it may be time for you to try other styles, I would recommend having the fire erupt from the ground underneath the target; not only does it catch them off guard, but it may also allow you to harm them in a much more vulnerable area since many enemies carry shield and thus might be ready to block the spell. After you have mastered this version of the spell, I suggest you return to the fire streak manifestation of fire and work on increasing the intensity and size of the heat into that of fireballs. Fireballs can be quite useful in that not only do they deal fire damage, they also have the propensity to act as a concussive force and sometimes knock targets about.

Finally, when you feel ready, you may be interested in forming fire into an explosion of heat. Think of the eruption style of casting mentioned before in this tome and think of a tremendous expansion of fire from a single area. Although it will take quite a bit of mana to fuel a fire of such intense heat even for a few seconds, I believe it to the most efficient and powerful variant of the spell. Also note that Fire is extremely useful against the rotting bodies of the undead as well as monsters which have been only exposed to cold climates.

In conclusion, I believe this spell to be quite useful and highly recommend learning it if one intends on learning other black magick spells. In the next tome, I will explain of the instruction of the Thunder spell.

-Ebon, High Black Mage


	5. Thunder

The Tomes: Section I The Elementary Spells: Thunder

To the newest practitioner of the magick arts,

Unlike Fire, its sister spells, Thunder and Blizzard will take a more complex knowhow of the subjects before one can go about casting the spells. With Thunder, I must first explain the properties of electricity, a force in nature that usually only occurs during storms which is manifested in the form of lightning, which is why I must disagree with the current naming of the spell. Thunder is the sound that one hears after the lightning, but enough about my own interjections. Electricity has differing properties from that of fire and ice, which made it one of the three elemental spells. Electricity has the propensity to be attracted and travel through various metals. When facing enemies that are heavily armored with metal, this is the advised spell to use.

This spell also has the ability to incapacitate a foe momentarily due to its ability to override the target's muscle control. Therefore it is advised that if one does not wish to inflict too severe a degree of bodily harm on the target and or wishes merely to stop the target in its tracks, the Thunder spell proves to be of some use. In its lethal form, Thunder can produce similar effects as that of fire in that if it overwhelms the enemy in the element, it may leave the body scorched beyond recognition. Many a beasts in this world can wield fire or electrical powers, and often when the discovery of a body by various travelers of different kingdoms can use this morbid sign on corpses to distinguish what they are up against.

From experience, I have been on the receiving end of many spells in my lifetime and can tell you first hand the difference between Fire and Thunder. Though they produce similar results, being hit with fire is as one would expect if they have ever experience or read about fires. The heat is almost unbearable, but to be on fire is one of the most grueling feelings; being scorched not only pains yourself during the attack, but leaves you with a pain to almost any contact afterwards. Being hit with a Thunder spell, on the other hand, is a much more different experience, it is a spell that courses pain on the inside of the body, and for the time you are affected, you loose control of movement. Afterwards, your body is just as sensitive to pain as after the Fire spell which is most likely why an extreme effect of both spells leaves similar results.

Electricity occurs during storms, but that is not all there is to know; it is believed that it occurs as there is a transference of power between the skies and the earth. It is a force that occurs when energies from both locations interact or meet with each other. Therefore, in order to cast the spell, one must understand that the spell must be casted in a location that has open reception to the sky, so that both energies may meet. There is an exception to this in that if one wishes, they can call upon the Thunder spell from indoors or a well enclosed location, one must either consider that the structure will be damaged with the spell or have enough force on the spell to penetrate the ceiling.

To cast Thunder, one has to concentrate mana into connecting the energies of the earth and the sky to meet as if they would during a storm. In addition, the more difficult task is to appropriately aim the spell at the intended target. That is why it is more important to remember where the enemy is in its proximity to the ground in that if one is outdoors, which most likely the case, the energy from the sky need not be as specific as where the energy from the earth comes from. Sill the most important part in aiming is focusing on where the energies will meet as to not replicate the random nature of lightning during a storm.

"Forces of the earth and sky unite, crash together with all your might! Thunder!"

The first form of lightning to practice is with simply getting the energies to meet as a lightning bolt. Do not be discouraged if your first lightning bolt is not as impressive as the ones seen in natural storms, the main point is attaining accuracy, then strengthening the spell. In this next level of the spell, attempt to deal more damage to the target by having the spell loose its organization at a particular location of the bolt and scatter its power in a small explosion possibly dealing damage to surrounding foes. Then when you believe you are ready, and believe you have more control on the meeting of the two energies, it is time to focus on increasing the initial bolt's size by envisioning a larger area from which the energies of the earth and sky come forth. This will result in a larger bolt, and though it seems messy, for lack of a better word, the chances of hitting a target will increase, but the radius must also be avoided; then there is the matter of not allowing the bolt to do damage to other important structures such as houses if the situation concerns them. Finally, once you have accomplished and successfully replicate this spell, I feel that you should attempt to do the opposite of what I have just instructed you by focusing the amount of energy in the previous form and concentrating it into a smaller bolt. With this form, one can hit a foe that is much more individually, although there are few cases that call for this form, you may need to know this if the particular situation arises.

With that, I believe that is what you need to know on the Thunder spell, the next spell I will discuss with you in these books will be the contrasting sister spell to Fire, Blizzard.

-Ebon, High Black Mage


	6. Blizzard

The Tomes: Section I The Elementary Spells: Blizzard

To the newest practitioner of the magick arts,

It is now time for you to learn the final of the three "elemental" spells, and end your introduction into the school of black magick. Blizzard in its truest sense is the opposite of Fire in its effects. Contrary to the uses of Fire, this spell is to be used against enemies that populate hot climates or places that contain magma. In addition, the cold of the Blizzard spell can help one maintain good health when traveling in such areas. The bitter cold of the spell, with practice will allow one to eventually freeze foes, but that is something that I will discuss in a short while. Blizzard, as you will soon learn, in many ways is a much more different spell than its sisters.

That first moment I heard a sinister mage utter the word Blizzard, I knew that I was in for a pain that was like no other. Because he was quite experienced, he was able to encase me in ice for a short while; short as it may have been, it felt like years of inactivity like moments when awakens ill. The strength drained from my very body every moment in that prison, but that was not the end of the pain. When the ice shattered, I was lucky enough to remember to shut my eyes for the ensuing debris. However, the rest of my body felt the concussive impact while exposed skin was scathed and cut. After quickly disposing of him, I then witnessed most likely one of the most perverse sights in my time training as a black mage, the mountain path I was traveling at had numerous amounts of human sized ice crystals that each contained an unfortunate soul who met their end at the hands of that truly evil mage. I considered myself lucky, not as much as surviving his attack, but being able to rid this world of him.

Conjuring ice is a much more different matter that setting foes ablaze, it requires the understanding that cold is not so much a force of its own, but rather the absence of heat, which would confirm the notion that the two are exact opposites. Cold has a tendency of slowing down the movement of whatever is exposed to it and it is theorized that the energies within matter move faster when heated and slower when cooled. Take this into account, it may serve you in one way or another in your future. With Blizzard, you are going to want to focus the energies of your spell to pull heat away from the location of where you are manifesting the spell.

"Winter's wrath come forth, cold whose energies slow; deal the coldest of blows! Blizzard!"

Casting Blizzard not only calls for the icy cold to your side, but also a new concussive or piercing force as strong as any weapon, just one that shatters after use. The first type of spell you should focus on creating is an icicle shard to project at your enemy. If the cold doesn't sting the enemy enough, I'm sure that a large piece of ice will do the trick as well. Of course, if your fancy is to bludgeon your enemy, you may choose to have your beginner level spells manifest in the form of a small twister of hail, which proves to be quite useful in aiding escape. Your next step in casting more advanced forms of Blizzard would be to increase the amount of icicle shards in the spell or practice having shards of ice erupt from the ground beneath the target in a similar fashion as with the Fire spell. Eventually your skills should allow you to have icicle shards from different starting locations occur and converge on the target for obvious tactical reasons. As with a more area defined spell, try to enhance which nature has already made known to be dangerous, hail. The idea there is to make the hailstones much larger than normal, to the size of houses. I recommend that as a master form of the spell, you should then return to the base concept of the icicle and, as with the case with all other spells, increase the magnitude of it. Of course, one is not completely out of options with this spell. If one is inclined enough, manmade snowstorms can be created as well.

This concludes my say on the elementary black mage spells, and I must state that to become proficient in black magick, you need not learn every spell you come across, that includes the three elemental spells. I know many mages who have only chosen one spell and worked with it in their magickal career. As a final word about the elemental spells, it has been theorized that one could enchant a weapon momentarily with one of these three elements; obviously, that can prove to be quite dangerous in the case of Thunder, and there is also the matter of preserving the weapon's integrity. Although it has been confirmed that weapons with natural elemental attributes indeed exist in our world, it is still not yet known how to apply spells directly to weapons, but we may be three generations before that may happen.

-Ebon, High Black Mage

Author's Note:

I suddenly realized that something quite important was missing from the past few chapters……spell incantations….Don't worry, I have added them to the other chapters. I look forward to reviews and any constructive criticism.


	7. Basuna

The Tomes: Section II The Intermediate Spells: Basuna

To the apprentice practitioner of the magick arts,

It would seem that if you have become comfortable with the beginner level spells, you are now delving into your curiosity of the schools of magick by exploring this portion of The Tomes. I must congratulate you and warn you at the same time because from this moment on, there will be a great deal more difficulty in both learning spells and coming to grips with the effects of magick, but if you feel that you are seeking to become more proficient in magick despite the trials, then I encourage you to broaden your knowledge.

Hopefully, you have already mastered the Cure spell as it is the only elementary white magick that was explained in the first portion of this series; if you have not, I strongly urge you to do so as quickly as possible. White magick healing is not only about wounds, but also about various ailments that may be faced.

Status ailments in one way or another can hinder a person. Some types are present so long as the one who caused them is still present or maintaining control of the effect. After a battle, that feed of energy allowing that status possible are severed, mainly due to the fact that either the caster who caused it has been incapacitated, or under some specific circumstances, the victor is still maintaining control of the spell. This leads me into the explanation of the spell, Basuna.

This spell was meant to interrupt the magick or energies that continue to keep one under those status ailments that need a constant fueling of mana. Initially the status ailment comes into contact with a person via action or spell, but it needs that extra mana to keep its effect, that is what this spell does. Although those who have seen the Basuna spell casted have labeled it a healing spell, which is not exactly what happens. We do not heal ailments with this spell, we merely stop them from continuing to plague the victim. Nonetheless, knowing this spell can be of vital importance in those long arduous battles.

"This one is struck with corrupting energies, remove the ailment that which brings this taint; sever the pollution from the body until it is not even faint! Basuna!"

Casting this spell is quite simple; all that is needed to be done is to focus the energies of the spell into a sort encasement around the victim of the magick controlled status ailment. The trouble is, how does one go about doing so? This is why Basuna is an intermediate spell. Now comes one of the more difficult skills in dealing with mana. After much time casting spells, and seeing them being casted, you must surely have noticed that just before the release of the spell, you can see waves of distortion in the air around the caster and the intended area. Sometime these distortions contain a tint of color. If you can see these waves around the victim of a status ailment as well as a trail leading to the perpetrator of the ailment, you now know what you must block in order for Basuna to work. As you progress, you will then be able to disrupt magicks that cause even more severe ailments. I have chosen not to elaborate on them because they are caused by both white and black magick sources alike, and in subsequent volumes of The Tomes, you will be taught spells that inflict these status effects.

Temporary status ailment spells were created to maintain an efficient use of mana for spell casters, they do not require too much energy to initially use and maintaining the mana supply for the spell to continue to work is rather low; they also can be cut off as the caster sees fit, whether it be for mana conservation, or they have seen that the ailment has done its work for the time being. However, there are the true status ailments, ones that are made to be detrimental to the victim even after the battle has been finished. These ailments cannot be cured by Basuna, which is what the next spell you shall learn is for.

-Iv, High White Mage


	8. Esuna

The Tomes: Section II The Intermediate Spells: Esuna

To the apprentice practitioner of the magick arts,

As you have read about in the previous book of The Tomes, Basuna is a spell that interrupts the magickal feed of energy that maintains a status ailment from certain spells. However there are status ailments that are constant from the moment they come into contact with the victim and require no fueling of energy afterwards. This is what the Esuna spell is for.

The reason for creating a more permanent status ailment, as one would guess, is because mainly that it does not have to be trifled with by the caster constantly. However, for the caster of these spells, one should take note that they spend vast amounts of energy to cause the ailments, mainly for the strategically reason of knowing that your opponent is emptying their mana reserves quickly, but also to realize that these types of ailments will require quite more mana that it would take to reverse, rather than halt the temporary ailments in the case with Basuna.

Furthermore, the reason that Basuna does not work in the case of more permanent ailments is because of the nature of the spell, it is one that blocks mana from feeding the effects, if the effects are already there and require no further amount of mana it will not work. Likewise, the Esuna spell will not work on temporary ailments because it only purges the magickal energies causing the ailment at that moment, thus with a constant influx of energy the ailment will just return.

"Impurities that plague the body, unnatural forces be released; purging of encumbering magick will leave my ally at peace! Esuna!"

To cast Esuna, instead of focusing your energies on a block of outer influences of magick from the victim, you must look at the victim, and depending on the ailment, you will be able to see the distortions and tinted airs that are the cause; this is what you must target and exorcise from the body. Obviously the more serious the ailment, the more powerful of an Esuna spell that will be required, train with this spell to increase effectiveness. It has been speculated amongst the white mages of Mysidia that the most powerful of Esuna spells may even be able to purge the forces of death from claiming a soul during battle, but alas, there is a spell within The Tomes that does this more efficiently.

These two spells you have learned of are what contribute to the intermediate level spells of white magick. Ebon will continue in your instruction of this same category within black magick.

-Iv, High White Mage

Author's Note:

Yeah, for some reason I just can't flesh out the white magick chapters, maybe I'm being to (to the point) with it. If anyone is reading this, I really would like your input seeing this is my second work and the first one I have really taken a liking to. Also I know my incantations are a little "eh", so if you have any ideas for future incantations, add it in the reviews. Don't worry I'm sure Ebon's chapters will be fully detailed.


	9. Scourge

The Tomes: Section II The Intermediate Spells: Scourge

To the apprentice practitioner of the magick arts,

In our world, there are many diseases and illnesses that claim lives far too early. They weaken the body, hindering it from mere days to the rest of a lifetime. Some of these illnesses have been attributed to poisons. This is what the spell Scourge is about.

This is indeed a spell that directly harms the target much like the three elemental spells: Fire, Thunder and Blizzard; but what is different in this case is that this is the more than the wielding and bending of elements. What Scourge does is that it amplifies the many harmful and contagious entities that already exist in the world and converge them to do what comes to nature. Imagine if you will, the times when you were ill and were unable to accomplish any actions due to the exhaustion of your body's natural defenses. Iv and I have studied both sides of this spell. From my point, I see the actual harnessing of the viral energies that weaken the target. Iv sees the ailment and reversing actions to this spell. If you have read up on the previous two books in this series, then you know about the types of ailments that can come upon the body. We have categorized them into two distinct groups: Basunic, which are those that require constant energy to exist, and Esunic, which linger in the body until cured. The poisonous effects of Scourge leave and Esunic effect on the victim, haunting them long after the battle has ended.

In our field travels to gain experience as mages, Iv and I have explored the world and have come across many situations, one's that though often not the most pleasant, are ones we felt necessary to our experience as mages and also to the construction to the understanding of magick as you are aware by reading The Tomes. Many of the beasts in the world that wield such poisonous magick are often composed of the toxins themselves. The very poisonous flans have been known to inflict the Esunic poison ailment, but very few creatures, villains, or monsters can actually wield the Scourge magick. We were once ambushed by a red soul, a monster that absorbs any type of magick, thus rendering us to attack it with only what weapons we are skilled with. Situations like this one made me wonder why there was no such training at Mysidia to be skilled in both weapon and magick, but nonetheless, we were at its mercy. The entity let loose a Scourge spell that suddenly brought me to my knees. At that point I didn't even have the strength to lift the dagger I held. Luckily, Iv was able to remove the poisons that had entered my body and eventually, she and I felled the red soul.

The effects of the spell upon its action though are not the only things to be concerned with. One must also understand that in a weakened state, all of your abilities are weakened, not gone in the case of magick, but still not at one's own caliber. Beware the effect of the Scourge spell, if one does not have the magick to reverse the effects, shops do carry what is known as the antidote. Although it does not specify what it is an antidote does, it can be explained by the fact that such a magickal item was created in a way that was meant to in a Esunic fashion, however its only focus on expelling all manner of poisons.

"Hampering diseases converge, bring the illnesses of the earth; hamper the body with your newfound girth! Scourge!"

Casting Scourge, in contrast to what I have said earlier, is much like the elemental spells. With this one though you must focus on the poisons that exist in our world, they are everywhere. They can be in the minutest locations, from plants and insects, but they can also be in the air itself. What you must do is focus on the auras that these poisons produce. For many, they often appear green and smoke-like. Now that you have an idea of their magickal visual manifestation, you must use your mana to mold it into a harmful effect. The first type of formation of the spell I recommend is to have the poisons occupy the area of the target, for this is the most basic action of the spell. This helps by practicing the very wielding of the spell. As you progress, you might want to have the poisons then force themselves into the victim's body, easiest done by having it enter through their nose and mouth. With other formations of the spell, eventually you should be able to physically gain control of more poisons to the point where they visually manifest and solidify. When you have done this, you should be able to literally lob the poison at the target, not only providing the opportunity for poisoning, but also dealing a considerable amount of concussive damage. Take care when wielding this spell, if the target, more often creature, looks to be comprised of poison, do not use this spell as it may heal, or worse, amplify their strength at the cost of your own mana reserves.

Scourge, like the elemental spell, can be an opportunity spell. It also may be the damaging spell of choice for mages that do not like the elementals. Even then, there are still some spells that directly harm foes, one of which even heals the caster, Drain. The next spell in The Tomes.

-Ebon, High Black Mage


	10. Drain

The Tomes: Section II The Intermediate Spells: Drain

To the apprentice practitioner of the magick arts,

As you know, the spell Cure is one that heals wounds at the cost of your own mana reserves, and that the elemental black magick spells cause damage. But is there a way to do both at the same time? Many mages' questions were answered with the spell, Drain. However, this spell does both actions in a very different fashion.

If you are well acquainted with the Cure spell, then you know that it is one that speeds up the process of healing in one's own body. Drain allows one to remain in battle in a much different way. This spell does exactly what one might derive from the name; Drain literally takes the life force from the target and feeds it directly to the caster.

Imagine if you will, the energy one feels from a well rested night, or the energy from having just satisfied their hunger. It certainly spurs one's own willpower does it not? In the case of Drain, the spell takes this conscious energy from the target and feeds it to the caster, granting them much more stamina to last the battle. In a sense, Drain is a spell that does not necessarily cure injuries, but prolongs the will to remain in battle with the very energies that fuel the target. However, there are some precautions that are to be taken when wielding Drain, take note on the life energies that fuel creatures of this world. Not everything is truly alive. The undead exist and continue to do so because of some sort of unholy energy. When one attempts to steal their energies, one is actually absorbing the evil power directly into their body. By doing so, you are actually doing harm to your body, and in some strange twist of irony, are healing the undead simultaneously. In addition, Drain can be used in scenarios that involve a companion that may be on the brink of collapsing from exhaustion. In theory, this spell can be used to transfer energies to the other person to keep them moving.

In battles against various vile mages throughout our world, Iv and I have dealt with our fair share of sinister black mages that use Drain to keep them going in battle. When struck, one suddenly feels like they have been awake all night, but with this instance, I felt like I had been without sleep for a week. I was on the verge of collapsing in heap at that very moment had it not been for a quick thought that streaked by my mind at the last moment, and that was to return the favor. I the cast the spell Drain on him and I suddenly felt refreshed, not only to the point of having a well rested night, but as if I somehow had been away form my studies, the adventuring, and work for some time. The end result for our opponent was him laying unconscious, easily allowing us to capture him and send him to the authorities.

"This body is exhausted, energies flow in my foe; give me strength to continue! Drain"

Casting Drain is like other spells that involve auras in that you need to be able to see them manifest themselves. The difference here is that you must now devote you search for life energies. Once you have discerned life energies, which often appear as a pale red color, you can now prepare yourself to cast Drain. Using your mana, focus the energies from the target and pull them towards yourself. In actuality, the premise of using drain is quite easy, broadening its uses though, are not. Unlike most other spells, this one does not have the propensity to target everyone on the battlefield from the start. Beginners must focus on one enemy then branch their way into targeting all of the enemies. Upon mastery of this spell, one might be able to even drain the energies and send them to multiple targets. Even the very skill of identifying the life energies can prove to be very useful in a mage's future. With them, one can not only detect life energies, but ones of death and evil as well. This undoubtedly is useful in the decision in deciding whether or not to use the spell on the target and detecting the undead themselves.

Drain has its purposes in battle, and although it does not replicate the actions of a cure spell, they indeed are a fantastic addition to any arsenal of anyone who practices black magick, but that is not the only spell that can replenish your own energies. Alas, there is another.

-Ebon, High Black Mage


	11. Osmose

The Tomes: Section II The Intermediate Spells: Osmose

To the apprentice practitioner of the magick arts,

I have discussed with you already on the importance of maintaining a healthy mana reserve at all times. Whether it be done by the most common ways of sleeping or drinking ethers, always be prepared to cast magick. However, there is still another way to replenish your own mana. The Osmose spell is a rather crafty and favored spell among black mages, and from time to time, some white magick practitioners have been known to have this spell under their sleeves.

Osmose does not restore mana in the way sleep does, by rest. Rather this spell allows you to feed on a source much like the way you would by drinking an ether; but with this spell you are not simply drinking that is present from the atmosphere, there is too little of it to absorb efficiently and for the most part it is disorganized. For this replenishment, you are to take the mana away from a target, thus rendering this spell under the categorization of black magick.

Like the spell, Drain, Osmose is simply the action of pulling energies from the target to you. This time it is the magickal energies, in this case colored in a light blue hue, that you must feed your spell casting reservoir with. This is especially useful on those long journey's that you cannot afford to sleep due to time constraints, or if you do not wish to purchase those quite expensive ethers. Although one would not look toward this spell as particularly useful in battle, this is essentially one of the more detrimental spells that can be used against spell slingers. For many enemies in the world, magick is not so much of an importance in their lives, so chances are that they have little or no magickal energies that naturally flow or have been built up over time, thus rendering your spell ineffective. For the spell casters, this is truly where this spell does exceptionally well. If you can get an Osmose spell off on an enemy caster, they you have already greatly hindered their plans for the battle. One should note that when absorbing the mana from an enemy, not all of the energy is absorbed, and not all of it can combine with your own reserves if it is at its limit, the rest of the mana is simply spilled off. Also note that Osmose can be used if one senses a large amount of mana in the atmosphere for there are times where the air can become thick with energies if there is enough of a magickal presence around. Some have speculated that strong waves of mana in the atmosphere could mean that the speculated elemental crystals could be present, but as of today, not one has been able to verify this theory.

During the times in which Iv and I were investigating rouge mages, we were first expose to this dangerous style of spell casting by a mage who enslave parasite monsters that leeched off mana with every strike. First the mage stuck us with an Osmose spell, and while it was potent, the mage made a dire error. He did not target one of us at a time, which allowed us to retain just enough reserves to fight him off. This attack did make our fight much more prolonged that it should have been in that I was forced to use less potent attack spells, and Iv's healing potential was not at par with her skill level. The parasites in this battle made things no less difficult. Instead of feeling bodily harm with their leeching bites into our bodies, I felt instead the aura of magickal energies dissipating at an alarming rate. Eventually we did persevere and from that point forward, I decided to add Osmose to my spell regiment.

"This mind is strained, energies flow in my foe; diminish their spells my own grow! Osmose!"

With the exception of the types of energy that is at the focus of absorbing, casting Osmose is almost identical in all ways as is casting Drain, one must focus their own magickal energies into taking the energies of others. Please note that with the case of Osmose, there must be some mana used for the spell in its initiation, one cannot simply cast this spell without any energy to begin with, so it is best to always be aware of your remaining mana reserves and to use this spell accordingly. Also in regards to similarities, this spell shares the same flaw in dealing with the undead. Somehow, for reasons that are still being disputed by Mysidian mages, the undead somehow absorb your mana when this spell is casted on them. It has been speculated that the mana that undead use for spell casting is somehow different, evil or not, that does not bind it to the ordinary rule of mana sources.

This book of The Tomes completes your study of the intermediate spells of both schools of magick. They are known as such due to their complexity and as the figurative stepping stones they are used as to broaden magickal knowledge. The next focus of study is that on the battle enhancement spells. This is a subject in which you will be under the instruction of Iv for the most part. Her knowledge of these spells is invaluable to the white magick practitioner and the reason why those who use white magick can be seen just as useful as black mages for battles.

-Ebon, High Black Mage

Author's note:

Just a tad late with my update. School has just not been nice in the past week, but hey that's the grind from this point until finals are over. Now I know why I didn't check this site to often around these times. Only until you've walked in another person's skin will you know what its like. Anyways, thanks for reading. I do want criticism!


	12. Protect

The Tomes: Section III The Battle Enhancement Spells: Protect

To the seeker of advancement in the magickal arts,

Our skills as mage's go beyond direct influence into turning the tides of battle. When warriors of different varieties join us in groups on various quests, we can play a much more substantial role. Many have heard that mages can alter the properties of a combatant in battle, now is the time in which you will know how we accomplish such feats.

These spells are likes status ailment spells of the basunic variety in that these enhancements last until the end of the battle, but unlike other basunic statuses this one retains its potency even if the caster were to become unconscious from the battle. The reason for this is that once the spell is enacted, all that remains is for the spell to draw mana from a source. Although one who is unconscious is considered to be out of the fight, their mana source is apparently still enveloping their general area. The spell ends when the caster dispels it themselves to prevent any more mana from being used, which is why this spell is more often used only in battles.

Essentially, Protect is a magickal barrier that is placed over a target to act in the same way armor would without encumbering the combatant. This is why many warriors alike favor having this spell at their party's mage's disposal. With this spell, the focus is on preventing or minimizing physical damage, be it sword, spear or any form of direct attack.

I remember what it was like using this spell for the first time. Once in my life I had tried to wear armor, but having only trained in the magickal arts, my body was not accustomed to the weight of most armor. The most I had ever worn was light chainmail under my robes, so already I knew that the time I was in the heat of a battle to come, I would not be able to evade blows as easily as I did before. Although most mages were discouraged from using heavy armor, I decided to press my luck and soon learned why plate mail was avoided by my fellow magickal practitioners. I remember we had encountered a massive hill gigas, the great overgrown beast threw a punch at me. Knowing I could not jump in time, I expected the worst and braced myself; to my surprise, the punch did not bring me as much pain as much as coming into contact with the ground from being launched. This spell made other normal blows from weaponry feel just as the punch from the hill gigas with only my thin chainmail to slow down the impact. Knowing this, I could only imagine what kind of resilience this spell brings to warriors who did tote about those large steel containers which they resided in.

"Coat my ally in magick, hinder blows of both sword and bludgeon; give them the resilience of a mountain! Protect!"

Casting this spell only calls for you to pull you mana into a protective shielding around the target. You must manifest it to form armor around the target, although most may not be able to see it, the magick does take the shape of weightless armor. When this spell does take hold of the target, it will be visible to those skilled in magick with an orange hue. Take note of this as there is no doubt that your enemies will also take advantage of this spell. Eventually you will be able to shape this spell into a much more durable armor. Though with time, the spell will begin to start to manifest actual armor if enough mana is given to the spell, when this happens, you are probably at the greatest potential of this spell.

This spell also has been rumored to have been used in enchanting some of the more powerful amor in the world. Those were able to accomplish such feats were able to do so because they completely depleted their mana reserves in the process. Although useful in theory, enchanting normal armor may not prove to be effective as it may not be the armor that will have continued usage, also the skill of enchanting is different in both application and learning. Then there is the matter of bracing a physical barrier with this spell. Take for example a wall, if you know that is going to be struck my an attack that may lead to it crumbling, this spell can be used to reinforce it momentarily.

This is but one of the many spells that you will come across in The Tomes that involve shaping mana into shields for your allies. The next spell does behave quite closely in the way Protect defends.

Iv, High White Mage


	13. Shell

The Tomes: Section III The Battle Enhancement Spells: Shell

To the seeker of advancement in the magickal arts,

If you have dealt the spell Protect, then you must be pondering if there is any way to defend against magickal attacks. For this question, I give you the spell Shell. This spell is the answer for those enemies you encounter wielding magick.

Shell is a spell that is not so much applied as a piece of armor. What is done with shell is that a shield in the shape of a dome just outside of the target's personal space. The shape of the shield is somewhat similar to a shell found along coasts which has lead to the name of the spell. This shield is in an area that is just out of range for enemy magick to manifest itself as well as not to isolate your intended ally from their mana aura. Perhaps the more appropriate choice of words is to say is that this spell cannot be formed within the targets mana area as much as it is recommended to be formed there.

Returning to the basunic elements of these battle enhancements spells. One important point to make is that these spells cannot be removed with a Basuna spell due to the nature of the Basuna spell. It only removes negative status ailments; Basuna was designed that way from the moment the spell was contemplated on, so take some reassurance in knowing that Basuna does not remove status enhancements.

Like Protect, this spell does not completely nullify the damage taken from magick attacks. Most armor in the world does not protect against magick unless already enchanted. Shell works to filter out as much magick as possible before it comes into contact with you. It is a broadly defined spell, meaning that shell works to diminish the flames of a Fire spell, the cold of a Blizzard spell, the energy of Thunder, infectious properties of Scourge spells, and the general mana potency of other damaging spells.

"Coat my ally in magick, hinder blows of the arcane; give them the resilience of a sage! Shell!"

Just as when casting Protect, Shell requires you to focus your mana into a barrier. This time around, you must first look at your target, view their mana aura and then set a note in your mind where you cast the magickal shell. With enough practice, you can defend against accomplished mages' attacks and reduce them to novice potency. With the color hue of an enchanted target, there will be a blue color that is barely visible in a dome shape. This spell also proves to be effective in gauging spell casters as well in that the larger the shell, the more potent they are magick wise.

Most magickal defending or elemental armor was created as the result of an intense Shell spell. With many enchanted armor, only when you focus your attention to any auras will the hue be visible on the armor.

You might think we are finished with the defensive battle enhancement spells, but there are much more varied attacks that can be used, so in response there are many other ways to deal with them.

Iv, High White Mage

Author's Note:

Two chapters! Nothing like a long Thanksgiving break to allow you to brainstorm.


	14. Wall

The Tomes: Section III The Battle Enhancement Spells: Wall

To the seeker of advancement in the magickal arts,

Sometimes, it may seem like a protect spell would be the solution to all forms of physical attacks. However, the spell only acts to serve defensively for direct melee blows. Other forms of physical damage can be best described as non magickal projectiles. Arrows from bandit bowmen can have their usefulness diminished with Wall. Even when an ogre or a gigas hurls whatever may be used as a weapon, this spell can benefit the caster as well as their comrades.

What Wall actually is, it is a magickal field that expands farther that simply the caster's or target of the caster's own personal space. Instead, consider the magickal Wall to literally be that. Bringing back the example of dealing with arrows, this spell in essence creates shelter from the projectiles. However, the intensity of the spell directly affects the usefulness of the shelter.

Returning to the basunic elements of these battle enhancements spells. One important point to make is that these spells cannot be removed with a Basuna spell due to the nature of the Basuna spell. It only removes negative status ailments; Basuna was designed that way from the moment the spell was contemplated on, so take some reassurance in knowing that Basuna does not remove status enhancements.

What one should consider with the ever increasing practice should one consider to adopt this spell into their repertoire is that the Wall created starts out as simple as that of a shelter of the average home, which in itself has its benefits in that if one is venturing outdoors and would by chance fall victim to undesirable weather conditions, this spell can provide a "mystical" encampment, granted the caster has enough mana to establish a Wall for a long time. Eventually, the spell Wall at its top proficiency can provide a defense from projectiles as that of a castle.

"Coat my ally in magick, give refuge from the ranged siege; give them the resilience of my liege! Wall!"

With any of the defensive spells in this section, one must foresee the magick into a form that can stop the desired attack. The aura itself given off by this spell is a subtle yellow. Take note as enemies are most likely to have a mage from time to time, and also a leader of the group paranoid enough to suspect an ambush from rangers and the sort implementing his mage's abilities.

Enchanting armor with this spell is rather pointless in that if it were done, all that one would gain would in essence be armor with the same qualities of protect. The main key of how this spell works is that the point where the magickal energies deter projectiles first diminishes the effectiveness as it passes through the wall of magickal energy until the projectile finally meets or rather hopefully does not meet with its intended target. One final note about this spell is that as the projectile passes through the spell, it literally slows down giving not only a defensive boon to the spell, but also the ability to completely evade the spell.

Just as there can be more that one type of physical attack to deal with. Such there are other types of magick and ways to meet with it.

Iv, High White Mage

Author's Note:

Finally back! Sorry for the long suspension of the story. The white magick portion of this section is almost over, I can't wait to get into Ebon's side again.


	15. Barrier

The Tomes: Section III The Battle Enhancement Spells: Barrier

To the seeker of advancement in the magickal arts,

As with the case of the Wall spell, there are other types of magick that have to be dealt with in battle one way or another. True that the spell Shell can provide defense against magickally damaging attacks, but there are slews of magick that can stop even the strongest warriors without even having to harm the body. The esunic and basunic status ailments are just as much of a problem as a ravaging Fire spell.

What this spell truly does is nullify all forms of magick that might otherwise befall a target. The magick used on the target from the Barrier spell is in constant use to counteract whatever type of magick might approach the area. In essence, the magick of the Barrier spell negates the magick of whatever offensive form of magick meets with it.

That is where the usefulness of the spell ends, however this spell is not without its side effects. The Barrier spell has an equal chance of hindering restorative and defensive magick from taking full effect. This means that whoever has been targeted with the spell must also take note that the effectiveness of both types of magick are hindered.

I remember on one of the earlier times that I and Ebon had traveled the world in which we were accompanied by a dragoon and a thief who were embarking on a quest of their own to recover legendary weapons from ancient shrines. The dragoon was seeking a legendary sword that was presumed to be the bane of every kind of monster while his rouge companion was in search of a pair of daggers that had the fantastic abilities to strike multiple times even if the wielder only swung their weapon once. There was a moment in our shared journey in which we were ambushed by a large group of bandit mages. Even though Ebon and I were much more skilled with our magick that the other group, their numbers made up for their lack of skill. The two warriors fought courageously but were unable to accomplish much because of the amount of cure spells that came from within the swarm of enemy mages. Eventually I decided to cast multiple Barrier spells that diminished the healing benefits of the enemy. Much to Ebon's dismay, he then focused on aiding our allies with various black magick spells, ones you may learn of if you choose to broaden your view on that area. Eventually with the combined hindrance of lack of skills and the barrier spell strategically placed on the bandit mages, the battle was over. This example is a true display of the matter in which a white magick spell can provide itself as an offensive tool.

"Coat my ally in magick, nullify the arcane; give them the resilience of a shrine of silence! Barrier!"

Casting Barrier only requires one to focus mana into a cloud or fog that can envelope an area around the target. Although one might believe that a spell created to counteract magick might be costly to their mana reserves, Barrier is actually quite simple to continually supply with mana in the matter that since the spell's direct function is not too complex and so general in its choice of targets. The color of the aura itself is a dim green light that signifies the affected region of the Barrier spell. One should note that if this type of aura is observed on an enemy party, this may be the result of a party that does not rely on support for magick or carries large amounts of potions. Eventually with more advancement of the spell, the effects of magick used in the designated Barrier area are almost rendered useless. This can prove to be an effective strategy on group comprised solely of mages.

As with the Wall spell, Barrier does not fair well as an enchantment for armor in that due to the nature of Barrier to block out all forms of magick. One would only receive armor that can make them partially immune to all types of magick, including the Cure spells that might save them from the brink of death.

Of course, there is another spell that aids mages and warriors alike. It neither increases shielding from attacks nor diminishes the blows. It however, incorporates the most basic of principles of battle. The blow not received is damage not received.

Iv, High White Mage

Author's Note:

To make up for a somewhat short chapter on Wall, here was an extra lengthy chapter on a white magick spell. Thanks again for the review(s), I really appreciate the constructive criticism and appreciation.


	16. Blink

The Tomes: Section III The Battle Enhancement Spells: Blink

To the seeker of advancement in the magickal arts,

The majority of spells that are in this section of "The Tomes" released by Mysidia actually deal with using magick that creates a buffer between yourself or your target and the various harm that might befall be it from blade or the arcane. However the spell in this tome deals with evading attacks altogether. The original idea from the spell came from the notion of an attack not connected is one that is not suffered from. Instead, the Blink spell focuses on increasing evasion or the likelihood of an attack not coming into contact with its intended target, and what better way to do this than making it difficult to even locate a target to direct an attack on.

How this spell might work, you ask. As the name Blink would imply, this spell deals with the ability to distort images. What Blink does is it attempts to distort the light and reflections around the intended target in order for it to be difficult to see. What must be made clear is that this is not an invisibility spell. Such magicks have been on record from ancient times within the Mysidian library, but the understanding as to how those spells work, let alone can be recreated, is something that could take years to break down. Blink is a visual illusion spell similar in effect, but not in principle to an invisibility spell.

As for actually using the spell, this battle enhancement spell requires much focus from the caster to be able to use it effectively. What is actually done with the spell is that the caster must be observant of the terrain or background in terms of colors, shapes, and light. Then they must configure an image to surround the intended target. The goal is to not make a person disappear, but to put an image in front of them to make it appear that the person has gone out of sight. The namesake of the spell comes from the early stages of how the spell is first put into use. A novice caster usually requires short periods of time to adapt the image seen by a foe as the affected ally or even the caster maneuvers through the area. When this happens, the image that has originally blocked the intended target is dispelled briefly until the new image is conjured up. Logically, as the caster becomes more proficient in replacing the image, the less time the person affected by Blink has the chance of being seen. These moments of brief visibility are what lead to the naming of the spell Blink.

This spell can be used not only in the heat of a battle, but also to avoid one completely. In our venture of exploring the world and honing our skills, Ebon and I found ourselves having just used bridge through a country's boarders. What we soon discovered was that an army on the other side was planning on invading and marching through the very same boarder that we had just crossed through. We did not want to take any chances of them believing us to be spies from the other nation, so we decided to use my blink spell to hide from the view of hundreds of soldiers. Later we found out that the militia was actually a personal bodyguard group for the king of that nation to our relief and embarrassment.

In another situation, we were in a shrine that created illusions so realistic, Ebon and I wondered how the imagery could have been so realistic. I deduced that the manner in which what we saw came about appeared to be a much more accelerated version of a Blink spell. The reason it was able to maintain a clear image was that somehow the shrine had an intense field of mana surrounding it.

"Coat my ally in magick, let my foe not find them; conceal them from their harm! Blink!"

This spell, while at its most advanced levels can provide for much more safety than the other battle enhancement spells, is truly taxing on one's mana reserves. To begin to create the images, one must focus the magick for the spell into creating color. Although one might be inclined to think of this as a physical manifestation of color, in actuality, this is the simplest part of using Blink. All that is required to construct an image is left to the imagination of the caster. The difficulty lies in focusing the magickal energies into manifesting themselves into the image, retaining them, and replacing the image.

This spell does have the properties that suit it for enchanting, but the type of spell focused on enchanting can only hide the wearer from the particular image created on the armor or clothing. Thus, one can create specific images to better provide visual camouflage from forest scenery for example, but its maximum use is in a forest, where the magickal images best melt into the forest.

This concludes the section of the battle enhancement spells that fall under white magick. This should have better broadened one's views of the uses of white magick in battle, and not just simply healing allies.

Iv, High White Mage


	17. Berserk

The Tomes: Section III Battle Enhancement Spells: Berserk

To the seeker in advancement in the magickal arts,

Black magick can aid one in battle not only by directly damaging an opponent, but also through indirect means as well. There are times when the best way to damage a foe is not by magickal attack, but by physical ones. The problem is that for many mages time spent studying the arcane does not leave much room to hone physical skills. This is where the Berserk spell takes stage.

Firstly though I must digress that while the spell is named Berserk, it is not a spell that literally throws the target into a killing frenzy, this is more of a might or strength spell. The naming of this spell is likely due to the witnesses' account of seeing this spell in effect. The Berserk spell increases the strength of the target allowing them to lift, pull or push heavy objects, and in this case swing a weapon much faster. What was probably witnessed upon the development of the spell was the target swinging their weapon much faster than normal, in almost a flurry of reflections of blades. In conclusion, the affected combatant only appears to have become a blood thirsty berserker in their fast weapon swinging; they still have full control of where they wish to swing their weapon.

When casting this spell the focus of mana must be on the targets muscles that are the key to weapon usage. For example, if the target is using a blade in their left hand, the mana must be directed to the left arm for maximum effect. When the target of the spell is dual wielding weapons, the spells power must be split between weapons. Also this spell only works with weapons that require literal strength to use, its effects differ for users of bow and arrow, but at the very least it allows for the effected to use their bow and arrows without fatiguing themselves. Berserk may also be used on martial artists as well in that such a warrior is a devotee of using their entire body as a weapon, which includes their legs. This leads to a rather interesting hypothesis: if Berserk is cast upon the legs of an ally will it allow them to become more agile? The answer is both yes and no. While the affected target may have more magickally influenced strength in their legs, it would only allow for so much added agility, but not the required endurance to continue acrobatic feats, instead another spell was created for added agility, Haste, a spell that I will delve into in another volume of this series. This spell also proves useful off of the field of battle. Many times has it helped the mages in Mysidia with heavy lifting that would otherwise been denoted to people with more physical prowess.

In battle Berserk helps my fellow arcaninsts as well, I recall times where battles against other mages has strained over hours, thus exhausting our mana reserves. I only had a small amount of mana to launch another spell and decided to use a Berserk spell. Indeed it was the tipping point in the battle as it allowed me to outmuscle my enemy. Be aware that even though the Berserk spell increases strength, it does not increase fighting skills, those must be learned through rigorous training.

"Mana converge, bring my ally might! Berserk!"

When beginning to use the spell, start out with strengthening an arm first, gradually one will become more affluent in dispersing the mana into the muscles of the body. One should also note that when it comes to wielding or lifting an unorthodox, improvised weapon, the mana used in the berserk spell must be spread throughout the target's body in order for the target to remain balanced with the object. If only the arm is strengthened, the heavy lifting will put an extreme amount of strain on the rest of the body which is attempting to remain balanced and standing. There have been times where I have witnessed an inexperienced mage attempt to use the berserk spell allowing himself to lift encumbering objects, but what he did not anticipate was the strain on his shoulder, back and legs when he attempted to lift the object. This is why it is now recommended by mages to allocate the mana of the spells power in its advanced stages to the entire body.

There are three black magick spells that help in battle, if interested in this particular field of black magick, please read up on Haste and Aura.

Ebon, High Black Mage.

Author's note: Hey I'm back, and just before six months fully pass, I hope to get in more chapters by the start of the school year.


	18. Haste

The Tomes: Section III Battle Enhancement Spells: Haste

To the seeker in advancement in the magickal arts,

While one can use the Berserk spell to increase strength in battle, longevity is another issue when it comes to physical direct combat. Being able to last is what gives warriors an additional edge versus mages in the realm of fighting, just as it is required to have a healthy amount of mana to endure a magickal confrontation.

Berserk is the spell that many who have already learned often use in tandem with Haste. Swinging a devastating blow may only suffice one or two uses in battle if they can connect. Haste in essence does so much more than its namesake implies, which is to increase the agility of the target, the manner in which the Haste spell functions with what makes it a near necessity to combine with the Berserk spell. During the time this spell was developed, the mages learned how the body functions, and in the particular relation to this spell, how it is able to continuously function. Breathing is something that I am sure that everyone knows is a requirement for the continuation of life, but why? It is simple, the air we breathe works in conjunction with the nutrients we absorb to allow our bodies to function and remain healthy. When a vast amount of physical stress is output from the body, the body in return reacts by supplying the required performance. The simplest way of seeing this relation between function and demand of energy is through running. After one has kept up a rapid pace for so long, one begins to realize just how tiring and demanding it can be, but one must also note the natural and almost automatic response the body exhibits, rapid breathing. Through this it can be seen that there is a large demand on the body's own energy reserves, this thought is what led to the creation of the Haste spell. The one problem faced early on in the spell making process was how to prolong endurance and how could mana be used for this issue? The solution was to forge mana into a form that could supply the human body with energy. In essence, it is not so much of a spell that literally makes one faster or more agile; at least, it was not intended to be the primary effect. Those aspects have been related to Berserk with out much reference in the spell. The reason why the spell is named Haste is because of the poetic observations of the spell allowing the first test target to run for extremely long periods of time.

This spell was created by forming mana into energy that the body could easily abosorb and use. Returning to the notion of breathing, the mages whom forged this spell decided that part of the focus of the spell would be to stimulate the heart and lungs, which are key organs in breathing. If they were able to work at a much faster pace, the length of time before the target begins to tire is greatly increased even for those with even less athletic experience. I suppose there is some truth to the matter in which the haste spell can increas agility in that if the body is working at a rapid pace, there may be a tie into the amount of adreneline, a speculated chemical in the body that pushes a person's own reactions and response times, which may display a form of increased reactions from the target. When casting this spell, one must understand the anatomy of the human body and be able to focus the mana into directly feeding energy to the heart and lungs. Over time, casters should note on the requirement of less mana to cast this spell, this is due to the fact that there is only so much these organ's strengths can be powered and adding more mana will acomplish nothing. Even magickally fortified, the human body does have its limits. One should also note the extremely dertrimental side effects of prolonged use of this spell, those being extreme hunger and exauhstion.

"Mana converge, bring my ally energy! Haste!"

Finally, there is one more spell that is to be discussed in this category of battle enhancement spells, one that will change the way one sees the elements.

Ebon, High Black Mage.

Note: I have no idea what I did in the early version of this chapter, point being, its gone now and I'm much happier with this version. Its best we forget about that one. *Shudders*


	19. Aura

The Tomes: Battle Enhancement Spells: Aura

To the advanced practitioner of magickal arts,

If one is reading this far into this series of books, then it is a safe assumption that the reader is familiar with the elemental spells discussed early on in the elementary chapters. The purpose of specializing in those spells was to have a type o f elemental spell that would have an advantage in battle against particular enemies or to have some sort of practical use outside of battle. The spell Aura, not to be confused with the natural man based aura that grows with experience, is one that was designed specifically for combat.

The Aura spell works by forming a brief enchantment around the intended weapon. The difference between this and the enchantments on mythical weapons is that Aura based ones not only are brief, but are also basunic in nature, meaning that the enchantment lasts only as long as the caster can supply energy into the spell. Another of the main differences is that with Aura, the type of enchantment is not merely limited to the main elements of attack spells; the element chosen is entirely up to the user. This means that weapons can be enchanted specifically to an enemy's weakness. Such cases were when Iv and I were battling against vampires. Originally we combated them with what was usually a good setup against the undead, Fire and Cure spells, but then I noticed that the vampires had flame absorbing armor which negated the effects of my spells. I then debated for a brief moment and decided it would be best to enchant my staff with a peculiar element. Although it was a risky and superstitious move, the payoff surprised even me. After one swing against our foes, I immediately noticed their literal distaste for my weapon. After the battle was over, Iv inquired on what element I had infused into my staff that frightened the vampires. I hesitantly remarked, "Garlic".

"Mana converge, give the power of _____! Aura!

The point is that one can infuse a weapon with nearly any element that can be imagined. The problem with casting the spell is being able to literally focusing the elemental or natural properties of the chosen element or aspect in my example earlier. When first attempting to imbue a weapon with any particular element, I would suggest that one should make the first attempt with an element that they are quite familiar, most mages use the element of the first attack spell they learned, I've even seen some white mages enchant using the cure spell for some interesting effects. The weapon literally functioned as a cure spell when used to strike. This aspect of Aura is something that still requires more study, but for the time being the only time a weapon has the propensity to heal is during the momentary time it is enchanted. With enough practice one will then be able to use this spell much more effectively not only increasing the strength of the enchantment, but also the number of different elements attached to the weapon.

This brings us to the end of the discussion of the battle enhancement spells. Both white and black magick spells in this category provide for means of better fighting in battles, but also require one to thinking about the way mana is used from a direct form to an indirect method of solving problems in battle. The next in the series of The Tomes are spells that concern the manipulation of the body.

Ebon, High Black Mage

Note: If you haven't reread the Haste chapter, I suggest you do, I had no idea why I even let the chapter debut in such a chaotic form. Its content is fixed now and I'm much happier with it.


	20. Silence

The Tomes: Section IV Body Enfeebling Spells: Silence

To the advanced practitioner of magickal arts,

Throughout this series, many spells have been explained in usage and practice from both schools of magick. They have introduce the means of bending mana, but now I must inform any reader who is venturing this far into The Tomes that from this point on, the degree of spell casting will require a much more serious degree of understanding of magick, not only in terms of mana manipulation but the ethics of spell casting and seriousness of these high level spells as well. These are the spells that are truly what makes the study of magick both satisfying and dangerous.

When battling against spell casters, there are actually many ways to approach a battle, some seek to prevent the spells from functioning by removing the mana altogether, but there are other ways as well. The Silence spell was created as a momentary ailment to stop an enemy that is using mainly spells. As you are quite aware by reading this series, spells not only require an envisioning of the spell taking effect, but also a minor incantation to release the effects. Part of the way that the incantation works is through the castor's own voice, not so much the spoken words. While the written and spoken incantations of various spells have changed from time to time, the main emphasis of casting spells with incantations was due to the user's understanding of what their spell does. If they cannot convey that meaning aloud, even whispered if necessary, the spell cannot function.

Using this spell takes an understanding of how sound works and more importantly how to stop it. Sound is what we hear when object collide, but when spoken as well it is caused by vibrations in our throats caused by vocal chords. In essence all vibrations can cause sounds depending on the type and force of vibration, the sound's tone and volume change. This must be taken into account when first attempting to cast the Silence spell. One of the best ways of canceling out any sounds that are made is by muffling or gagging them. Just as a real gag would work by preventing the sound from being heard from some one's mouth, so too must a magickal one be created to prevent a spell from functioning.

This spell has hindered by abilities from aiding my allies many times, each time I've succumbed to the spells effects, I notice that no matter how hard I yell, not even I can hear the sound of my voice. This is because the spell is mana literally formed into a form that can absorb all of the sound in an area, more specifically from the throat and mouth. However, one must note that this spell requires a constant fueling of mana to continue to prevent enemy spells from working, thus making the ailment caused by the Silence spell basunic. Once the user of the spell stops supplying mana with to the spell, or is incapacitated, the target is then free again to speak.

"Confine the arcane to be unheard, let no sound be heard! Silence!

To cast this spell, one must focus the mana of the spell into a form that is partially physical, like that of the Protect and Shell spells. The purpose of the spell is to absorb the sound created by a voice human and beast alike. Note that the concentration of the spell must be focused around the head area, as that is where speech and incantations are obviously issued from. Eventually, voices are not the only things that can be silenced with the spell. Take this example for instance; when traveling past areas infested with monsters, Ebon and I decided that it was best to avoid too many confrontations and quickly reasoned that one of the best ways to remain undetected in addition to the cover of night was to prevent any sounds that we created. I cast Silence around virtually our entire bodies as to prevent the sounds of our breathing and footsteps from being heard as well as the clatter of sounds of all the gear we were carrying in our journey. Fortunately for the two of us, the Silence spell is one of the main spells I had focused on in my studies at Mysidia. However, maintaining the spell for hours nearly drained all of my magickal reserves thus forcing us to stop and rest. After our venture through the area did I come to the realization of just how important the silence spell could be used in out of battle applications. The townspeople had told us that the forest that we had crossed through the night previous was adjacent to mountains heavily populated by wolves and werewolves. At that moment I understood how if we had caused any form of noise on our own or with an encounter with other beasts in the forest, we might have alerted the lycanthropes in not too far off.

Given this knowledge on other applications of the Silence spell, this type of magick may not only be used for spell casters, but also the stealthy types of people. It has also been used in somewhat comical situations by our instructional wizards at Mysidia to keep in check some students who wish to abuse magick early on in their studies, deter them from such thoughts, and remind them that using magick is not to be taken for one's own selfish reasons. Take into mind that this is a basunic type of spell and that in order for it to work the caster must continually feed the spell mana. If one is not able to maintain focus on the spell either, then the efforts of casting it will be in vain. The next spell in this series is one that has caused speculation into a realm of other types of magick that can be studied.

Iv, High White Mage

Note: Wow, four chapters in four days. Expect the spells in the tomes from this point on to be much more detailed.


	21. Slow

The Tomes: Section IV Body Enfeebling Spells: Slow

To the advanced practitioner of magickal arts,

Here is another spell that defines the difference between the two schools of magick. With many spells that have similar ends in both schools, it is the means that define whether or not they are categorized into either black or white magick. In this instance take the notion of disabling or encumbering an opponent. The method described in this spell, Slow, will differ much than others such as Stun and Stop.

The development of this spell first concentrated on an idea in which caused a little bodily harm to a target, but still being able to hinder them greatly. Most likely this spell was made for such tasks as bringing in hunting fugitives of the law that had to be taken alive. Others have theorized that this spell was also made in regards to the field of magickal study as well. While it may not have been the spell of choice, but rather a prototype that led to the development of the Stun and Stop spells, Slow may have been made in mind in order to study wildlife, both docile and or monster in nature. This spell's use would have been particularly useful in the field of observation, allowing one to see a creature in motion and thus studying its muscle movement and techniques that may be quite rare. Within this theory, the next step would have been capture of such subjects, which most likely have required a stronger spell.

The manner in which this spell was crafted took on many ideas of what it took to literally slow down a target. Ideas stemmed from forming magick into a humanoid force that held back foes to forming a prison of magick. Both ideas were abandoned when a mage recalled difficulty he had when he first learned how to swim, particularly the inability to walk about on the bottom of a body of water. This is what sparked the idea for forming mana into a substance or presence that perpetuated around the target thus preventing movement at full speed. Not only would this spell prove to be useful in reducing a target's speed but also their attack power as well.

In order to successfully use this spell, one must be able to not only form a dense enough mana field to encumber the target, but also be able to maintain it where the target is located. To accomplish the first of these two tasks, on must first imagine a form that can greatly immobilize a target. Like in the example in its development, most users who first cast slow should try to form mana into a field much like water, a relatively simple concept that nearly everyone is familiar with. Later on, one should become more creative in which the type of field they create to encumber their foes within. Such ideas could be to later form the mana field into something either similar to sap or quicksand, however note that these iterations of the Slow spell will require an understanding of the behaviors of such occurrences in nature, meaning that in order to use such forms, one must have had some sort of experience with the said examples. This is one such spell in The Tomes that requires one to have an outside or personal understanding of a natural occurrence of a portion of a spell in order to cast it. The other portion of the spell is being able to keep the field of encumbrance around the target. This means that the spell must be constantly be maintained in the basunic fashion in order for its effect to continue to affect the target, but unlike most basunic spells, the directed feed of mana is not ensuring that the spell is continually powered, but rather that the field moves with the target. The field itself is also an issue that must be faced when it comes to size. If the field does not cover a large enough height, then the target can simply escape the field by leaping out of it, this is why the suggested shape of the spell would be a cube or sphere in that the distance from the edge of the field and the target are the same at all points. That said, combined with this spell's two main principles will make it difficult to master.

"Confine my foe into a prison that will last, where things are always slow not fast! Slow!"

This spell not only proves to be a useful detrimental ailment in combat, but it also has quite a few practical applications as well in and out the fray as well. While still on the subject of battle, this spell can be used defensively by using it as an impromptu shield against enemy projectiles. As with any object or substance in the world, including water, Slow's field of shaped mana can affect most projectiles' speeds by diminishing them when they come into contact with this spell, even other magickal attacks. Another instance of how this spell can help came to my knowledge through a near fatal mishap that Ebon and I experienced.

While exploring some of the desolate, abandoned ancient shrines Ebon and I happened upon a passage that lead us to a grand room with a pathway that led to a pedestal of significant interest to ourselves. The pathway to the pedestal was an old stone based bridge that was suspended over a large subterranean river. Foolishly, we made our way to the pedestal without much of a though over the bridge's condition; unfortunately for us, halfway on our crossing, the structure crumbled beneath our feet. The fall was great one, and I was sure that the impact into the river below would not be a very safe one. Instinctively I cast the spell slow around the two of us, since there had been many times that I have protected ourselves from rockslides with Slow, but as I soon found out, the spell also works in reverse. Being proficient with the Slow spell, the field of encumbering mana was able to absorb our fall and allow us to hit the water as if we had jumped into it from the shore. Indeed this spell proves to be not only a combative agent, but an explorer's best friend as well.

Finally, there is one misconception about this spell that I feel that I must explain. In this series, there are some spells that are named in such a manner that might lead one to believe they have something to do with the control of time: Slow, Stop, and Haste. While these spells give the idea of such possibilities through their effects, controlling time is something that has yet to be successfully studied. Perhaps other branches and schools of magick may be possible in the future, that is something I can only hope for.

Iv, High White Mage

Note: Yes! My longest White Magick chapter yet! I'm so proud of myself.


	22. Stun

The Tomes: Section IV Body Enfeebling Spells: Stun

To the advanced practitioner of magickal arts,

Continuing with the subject matter of restraining using bodily enfeebling magick, let the explanation of the spell Stun be commenced. If you have read on the slow spell, then is should be apparent that the spell was made in mind to diminish as little bodily harm as possible upon the target as possible. Other spells were created to subdue movements, but in return for effectiveness, the also bring with them more hazards. Whether or not those hazards deter a mage from using the spell, is completely up to the user.

The idea for this spell was based off of the side effect of the Thunder spell. When I explained that spell, I noted the potential side effect upon the target, besides burning the body, could also be immobilization of the target. Taking that idea, the forgers of this spell decided to create a spell that could make use of the less damaging detrimental portion of a Thunder spell and focus on the possibilities of electric currents. After much study of the human body, it had been discovered that the brain sends signals throughout the body to accomplish various tasks which all stem to muscle control. Much like the way a berserk spell is used in targeting the muscles, so must the Stun spell be directed. When the electric currents of the Stun spell come into contact with the target, the muscles will then be unable to function properly momentarily. This is due to the matter in which the very same signals that the brain sends to the body behave in the same manner as electrical currents, but on a much smaller level. When Stun comes into contact with the target, it would appear that the body reacts with some sort of sensory overload. In the first trials of this spell, it had been noted that the target was not even able to maintain balance. Eventually, the spell was able to completely incapacitate a foe and force them to collapse in heap for up to a period of three seconds.

This spell's power and mana constraints vary greatly as it depends on the intensity and duration the caster wishes for it to continue. The constant maintenance of this spell's activity makes it basunic in nature meaning its duration ends when either mana is not supplied to the spell or the caster wishes it to be complete. Fist time casters of the Stun spell should firstly focus on the intensity as it is most important factor of the stun spell, for if the spell cannot literally stun in the first place, if would not be much of a Stun spell to begin with. Unlike a Thunder spell, the focus of one's mana should not be on the energies of between the sky and earth meeting in a violent fashion, it should be focused on the organization of the energies and the target's muscles. This is focused on the translational properties of the electricity and not its propensity to ignite, that way the current can pass through unintended points of the target to reach the muscles. This is especially useful in targeting foes that are prepared for the effects of Thunder spells. Often times Iv and I would see gigas who were immune to electrical attacks due to their enchanted armor. However, through the stun spell, I was able use their weapons as conduits in bypass their electrical resistance and immobilize them in preparation for other attack spells.

The other portion for using this spell is using required mana for the duration of the spell. Although one can keep this spell in effect for as mush as one wishes, the main concern is the power of the spell in tandem with the duration that can pose difficulties. As I have stated before, this spell uses electrical currents to disrupt muscle movement, or more particularly in the usage of the spell, it targets the muscles a behavior very similar to the Berserk spell. And just in the case of the Haste spell, this spell can, with prolonged use, be seeped into the heart and lungs, thus causing further trauma and potential cardiac arrest, or heart failure. While this effect is something that can be taken lightly with beasts in the wild consider the following anecdote. Some of Mysidia's more experienced mages, upon experimenting with this spell did not take into account the dangers of prolonged use of the spell. It began a somewhat of a joke when one black mage attempted to restrain his colleagues from being able to meet with a potential mutual love interest. After a matter of hours under the influence of stun, he died and was unable to be revived due to the immense electrical damage to his heart and nervous system, the portion of the body that deals with reflexes and movements.

"Electrical energies restrain, make all efforts to move in vain! Stun!"

Another aspect of this spell is its application outside of dealings with the body. I've known some spell casters who have used this spell in conjunction with traps. They focus the spell into an object, more often metallic. It remains slightly charged by the spell to prevent it from giving off too much light, sound, or magickal auras. When a person falls into the point of the trap, the caster can then unleash a powerful burst of the spell to immobilize the target. I've know many hunters to have learned this spell to better catch prey with minimal injury; in return for teaching the spell to hunters and ranger alike, they return the favor by trapping creatures so that we at Mysidia can study them alive.

While this spell does quite a successful job in immobilizing most foes, there are plenty of foes and monsters who are naturally immune to this type of attack and the Slow spell, that is why other immobilization spells were created, but those fall under categories of magick that requires different understandings. The next spell in this section of The Tomes deals with inflicting an esunic type of ailment that greatly reduces physical capabilities without targeting the entire body.

Ebon, High Black Mage

Note: Hooray for Black Magick and long chapters! Just so you all should know, I have categorized most of the spell sections in keeping with organization very similar to the one shown at gamefaqs, and furthermore, I'd like to thank those who were able to categorize the spells.


	23. Blind

The Tomes: Section IV Body Enfeebling Spells: Blind

To the advanced practitioner of magickal arts,

While the bulk of spells in this series have been aimed at deterring physical attacks, warriors and other well known agents of destruction of the magickal world, the next spell us able to be detrimental to all combatants afflicted by the spell. Blind is a spell that is one of the few that was adequately named during its creation. This spell does exactly what its name entails. However to use this spell, one must understand how to blind an opponent.

First it must be said that this spell does not remove the eyes or gouge them in some sort of barbaric manner, if that is your view on how accomplish such a task then I must question your own dedication to magick. The Blind spell is a less gruesome method of rendering the sight of the target with out the "messy" means or consequences. To use the spell, it takes more than an understanding that the eyes are what allow sight; one must also take into account matters of light and its reflection. If you need another example of just how detrimental any affliction upon sight can be to a victim, simply refer back to the book on the Blink spell. With the Blind spell, the idea is to completely remove vision from the opponent's array of tactics rather than to diminish them.

During the first attempts of creating a spell that could blind the opponent, casters forced mana into an area in front of the eyes to obscure vision. The reason that this spell is not as simple as casting the example previously mentioned was due to the large flaw in the early blind spell. With the spell's energy being focused in a location where it was know to affect, anyone with enough knowledge would simply bat away the mana with enough force, thus turning the spell into more of a nuisance than a hazard. Upon studies of the human body's physiology, or its architecture, the mages who crafted Blind noticed that the eye was an organ that particularly was hollow, at least in terms of not being particularly dense with bodily flesh. It is more so filled with a fluid that proves to be quite tangible with magic. This led to the clarification of a theory that light being reflected off of any object would then enter the eye where at that location an image is conjured and sent as a message to the brain. The forgers of the spell realized this and realized that the point in which they could deter vision was not on the outside of the eye, but inside it thus allowing the blind spell to function without it being removed so easily.

This spell is one that does not require one to constantly supply mana as all that is needed is mana that deters the vision to remain in the eye where there is no physical means of removing it. This spell is esunic in nature; it proves to be quite useful in capturing fugitives as it remains in effect outside of combat. Early iteration of this spell by novice casters should primarily focus on simply penetrating the eye and filling it with a haze. This in turn does not grant a true or full version of the spell, but it does suffice as a detrimental condition. Eventually with enough understanding of what kind of magickal haze to create, the target can be rendered fully blind.

Although the difficulty in externally forming the haze is something that I would advise against in usefulness against one target, using a large amount of haze to disrupt the battlefield is often a useful method of escape. It requires only the mana from the initial casting and thus can be forgotten about when the need to flee arises.

When struck by the Blind spell, the victim literally does not register any images in their mind leaving them to trust their own senses. When I had been hit by this spell, I was forced to rely on my hearing which in that particular case benefited me in that our foes mainly consisted of spell casters. I was able to not only able to pick up on their incantations, but also the fluctuations of mana from their spells in order to determine their precise location and where my fireballs would crash. This proves that even if a target is blinded, they are not completely helpless, if the combatant is skilled enough, being blinded is only a momentary detriment; any skilled warrior will then attune their strength of their other senses in compensation for a lost one.

After the battle I was forced to take a magickal remedy as Iv, who normally accompanied me in such quests was not present that day. Being an esunic ailment, Blind spells remain after engagements and must be purged magickally, and thus allowed the creation of eye drops. These drops are not so much medicinal but mainly magickal in substance. When the drop comes into contact with the eyes, they allow the magickal haze to be purged from the eye and dissipate. However, the method for accomplishing this is rather painful in that the drops open holes in one's eyes to remove the spell; this is not a pleasant experience, but if one wishes to see again, and there is no one with a powerful Esuna spell present, this is the only way.

"Create a haze where sight is not free, one cannot hit what one cannot see! Blind!"

The next section in this series departs momentarily from spells that are physical and direct in nature. The spells that are contained are ones that will require much more use of the mind, in more ways than one.

Ebon, High Black Mage

Note: Well, not as long as before, but I'm having fun with this and I can't wait to get cracking on the next section.


	24. Sap

The Tomes: Section V Mind Alteration Spells: Sap

To the seeker of advancement in the magical arts,

It has been previously mentioned that the best way to stop another user of magicks is to separate them from key elements of spell casting. This has been mentioned earlier by Ebon concerning the Osmose spell and how it essentially takes the mana for the caster's own use. However, that is not always the best solution given the propensity for some enemies or monsters to have taken precautions against absorbing magick. Then there is the Silence spell, and while it offers a momentary prevention of magick use, it does not help in the long run once its basunic elements have dissipated. Thus brings into the picture the use of the Sap spell which completely avoids all of these problems.

First and foremost, it must be understood that this spell and others to follow are part of a new volume in The Tomes. Sap and others spells to come are denoted as mind alteration spells. These spells are those that deal with the mind. Already it can be inferred that the subject of mind alteration is something that some will find morally conflicting as the nature of these spells do indeed alter the mind of the target.

Since this is most likely the first mind spell the reader is looking into using, it would be nessacary to understand how mana can affect the mind. Much like the black magick spell Blind can find its way into the body, so can other spells. Instead of concentrating upon a physical effect like nearly every other spell that has been described, the mind spells requires one to convey an image of the effect and then translate it into the opponents mind. This might sound daunting at first, but in actuality it is quite easy to perform this first step, but the difficult part will come when unleashing its effects on foes. This is where the strength of one's abilities come into play. Obviously if you are not adept with magic already, most of these spells will not function well in scenarios when they truly matter.

Let us move from the basics now and onto the way the spell itself works. Sap is a mage's tool in rendering another caster with little resources to cast spells. It is actually quite a bit more useful than a Silence spell in that most well prepared mages are ready for the effects of such a spell and will then try to wait out the basunic nature of the spell, hoping to make their opponent waste their mana reserves. With Sap though, you will be attacking their mana directly. The way this is accomplished is by first conjuring an image in one's mind of mana being dispersed from the opponent's magickal aura, not to be confused with the enhancement auras that manifest themselves for all to see. The next step will be the reason why Sap is known as a mind spell. After conjuring the image of the spell, instead of attacking the field of mana around the opponent, direct your energies to their head, where they are concentrating on their next spell. What will happen if this spell initially works is that it will then convey the image of their own mana dispersing from their control; however that is not enough to make the Sap spell work. What you must then do is now use the power of persuasion to convince what they are seeing in their mind is real. If they believe that their mana resources are fleeting, they will actually manifest this action on their own.

This spell comes in quite useful for novice practitioners of the spell to become aquainted with mind magic. Eventually the spell can be used for serious mage combat; usually this spell is a good detector of an enemy's skill with magic. If they are able to faze off the spell and break free from the images you create before they loose quite a bit of mana, you know what type of opponent you are facing. It should be noted that this spell, when being under its effects, will feel more and more real based off of the caster's experience with mind magic. It truly is difficult to tell whether one is losing their mana because of a lack of concentration, it is being stolen with an Osmose spell, or if someone is using the power of magical suggestion.

"This mage is strong, let me loose his mana stream, when it is depleted, my allies shall gleam. Sap!

Perhaps one of the more beneficial sides of learning mind spells is that experience from using one type of spell can help in the use of others spells of this category. With enough practice, this spell can be especially useful in deterring weak spell casters. More often than not, inept spellcasters, including monsters, will have only enough mana to enhance themselves for the battle in hopes of getting lucky and overpowering stronger foes. With Sap, they are rendered to using only their physical attacks, though this can backfire in the scenarios that include stronger beasts.

In terms of other uses, Sap does not offer much more that conveying images using magic, but that is not an insignificant aspect at all. However, although it allows non verbal communication, aside from the incantation, it also requires one to be able to see the person whom they wish to convey an image or message to. At Mysidia it is very well known amongst the staff that some of the higher level students will try to use this spell in order to cheat on their exams. We know that they won't cast it in class considering that we will know what is happening. They tend to come into the room with a friend while the spell is in effect. Unfortunately for these students, while using this spell, most are receptive to more effects from mind spells. All the staff does when they suspect cheating is project a very loud sound or other annoying occurrence to these students.

The basics in understanding conveying images to others via magic has lead to a diverse selection of spells that can put the target into an experience they truly believe is happening, the next spell amongst white mind spells will have to deal with immobilization, however this will be through hypnosis.

Iv, High White Mage

Author's note: Wow, it has been a really long time. But on the bright side, I'm not dead! Just finished with a paper for a grad school class and I really can't believe I had the energy to write this chapter! For those of you all who are new to this stuff, thanks a whole lot for reading/adding to favorites. Also your help has made me realize just how sloppy I've been recently. So before I get too ahead of myself, I'm going to go over every chapter for typos, and fix some of the incantations. Thanks for sticking with this story guys and I promise it can only end two ways, either it's finished or I am. Just don't expect an onslaught of chapters. I think I blew the last of my creative energy for today. And yes, I'm spelling it magick now.


	25. Fog

The Tomes: Section V Mind Alteration Spells: Fog

To the advanced practitioner of magickal arts,

The power of suggestion is a powerful tool, with or without magickal abilities. Thieves, rogues, and deceptive people of all kinds use it in order to get by if even for a brief moment. Trickery is not something that mages are ordinarily known for, but when it comes to this category of spells, it is necessary for one to become better acquainted with deceptive practices.

As mentioned in the previous book, Sap, mages have always dealt with the issue of stopping other spell casters. Mana constraints and duration are all issues that have proven difficult to overcome, that was until the creation of the Fog spell. Branching out on the notion of a self fulfilling prophecy that is a scenario where one believes that an event will occur after being influenced repeatedly that it will happen. One of the key aspects in a self fulfilling prophecy is that the person being targeted is the one that allows it to happen; only when they truly let the thought consume them does the effect occur, usually at their own hands or lack of will to overcome it. Fog comes into these ideas by suggesting to the target that they do not have any knowledge of a particular skill at all. If one cannot recall how to do anything, they are at the mercy of their opponent. That said, this spell focuses on blocking the targets ability of casting spells.

Firstly, mana must be directed at the head of the opponent where one can fill their mind with thoughts of ineptness with magic. The issue differentiating the effects of this spell from other mind spells has to do with knowing the skill that is being blocked. At the core of preventing spell casting the simplest and most effective means of preventing it is by creating an image inside the targets mind that they do not have control of mana at all, nor do they possess magic. This creates a situation similar to and if not exactly to amnesia. However, a true case of magickal amnesia only occurs when the caster masters the ability to make the Fog spell esunic in nature. This is done by creating a loop in the target's thoughts with the mana energy from the initial Fog spell. First the target is "convinced" of their lack of magickal understanding, but if the caster conveys a real enough image, the target may believe this situation "permanently". While it is not truly permanent since the amnesia effects are magical, as long as this magical block on memory exists the skills will not be applicable.

As with any of the mind alteration spells, the images sent to the target appear as if the target is truly experiencing them in real life. I myself have been reduced to the state of novice by this very spell as part of my training at Mysidia, not only as an understanding of the nature of mind spells, but also as a realization that one's magic is not something to be taken for granted. The removal of this spell in its "permanent" form requires either a powerful Esuna spell to remove the magick from the mind or an item purchasable at select shops. The mallet might seem a bit physical as a remedy to magickal amnesia, but this is by no means that simple of a solution; however, it does have folk tale roots. As the lore dictates, a man who one day could not remember who he was drove his wife to the point of frustration that she clubbed him over the head with a large object; either by concussive force or the will not to continue a guise of ignorance, the man quickly reverted to his old self. In the case of the magickal remedy, a mallet is charged with properties of the Esuna spell concentrated in dispelling images inside the mind. As for mages that do not know the Esuna spell, they can attempt to charge their staff with magical energies while concentrating on mind alteration spell properties, then striking the victim of the mind spell.

"Like plants in winter's frost, experiences gained and lessons be lost! Fog!"

As elaborated earlier, Fog can be used to prevent the use of magic. But this spell can also be used to prevent the use of other skills; the problem with this scenario is that the caster must also be skilled in the abilities she or he is trying to repress. In theory it is very possible to render an opponents physical combat abilities, but there is distinct need to have combat prowess oneself. Mages at Mysidia have been known to undertake some sword lessons funded by their own private means. The effects of the Fog spell by these students have been shown to inhibit the ability of enemy combatants.

The propensities of this spell, while amazing, have also proven to be quite dangerous. If someone with horribly dark purposes wished, they could, with a massive dedication to the practice of the Fog spell only, prevent a person from remembering who they are as in the case of true amnesia. Only then could an expert mage detect if the person is afflicted with this magic spell or not. It is because of this inherent danger that some select books in this series are not available to the public, or rather limited to pubic access. These mind alteration spells are a clear example of such books and thus have been limited to kingdoms that have proven their worth in many aspects fitting of the Mysidian council. If you are reading this tome, then you should consider yourself quite fortunate to have access to such a rare document. Even so, if on the very marginal chance this tome were to fall into the wrong hands, those not trained in magick spells and have had a massive dedication to its study before this one are not likely to succeed, or even fall victim to the dangers of casting this type of magic.

Iv, High White Mage

Note: Yeah, some of these spells are way too dangerous for public use. As always, I welcome and encourage the reader's thoughts and remarks.


	26. Fear

The Tomes: Section V Mind Alteration Spells: Fear

To the seeker of advancement in the magickal arts,

The power of suggestion is indeed something that has been magnified by the mind alteration spells. While up until now the focus has been on inhibiting the target's abilities by denying them their recources or knowledge at the cause of their own hands, there has not been much elaboration on other means of deterring a foe. The will to battle indeed is just as important as having the means to do so. This spell, Fear, targets an opponent's will to battle by instilling the mental intabilities or anxiousness that would normally only befall a novice combatant. Of course, there is a distinct need for the need to understand fears before undertaking the use of this spell.

Fear requires one to have an understanding of how fear prevents its victim from functioning in society and battle alike. As an example I will use a fear that, in the view of many, would be considered to be illogical: that of the fear of arachnids. On the surface, this fear might seem ridiculous to others as it is essentially the fear of creatures that are of a much smaller stature than a human being, but when one examines what is truly the cause of such fears it becomes more clear of what allows people to acquire and develop this and other frears. The main connection between all fears is that they are either based on the unknown of what may be or the known of what has been. In our example of arachnaphobia, either it can be derived from the initial lack of understanding of such creatures, a painful experience with spiders such as being bit by one, or a combination of not knowing about them alongside bais created from an outside source. In the magickal sense, we must then determine what type of origin the fear has had before we can utilize the Fear spell.

In order to make this spell function properly one can go of either two routes. The first being a play on the fear of the unkown. This is most likely the path novice casters of this spell will take considering this version of the spell requires little effort and actually is more broadly effective; however the problem is that due to its simplicity, it will not work on the more resilient opponents.

Let us move from the basics now and onto the way the spell itself works. Sap is a mage's tool in rendering another caster with little resources to cast spells. It is actually quite a bit more useful than a Silence spell in that most well prepared mages are ready for the effects of such a spell and will then try to wait out the basunic nature of the spell, hoping to make their opponent waste their mana reserves. With Sap though, you will be attacking their mana directly. The way this is accomplished is by first conjuring an image in one's mind of mana being dispersed from the opponent's magickal aura, not to be confused with the enhancement auras that manifest themselves for all to see. The next step will be the reason why Sap is known as a mind spell. After conjuring the image of the spell, instead of attacking the field of mana around the opponent, direct your energies to their head, where they are concentrating on their next spell. What will happen if this spell initially works is that it will then convey the image of their own mana dispersing from their control; however that is not enough to make the Sap spell work. What you must then do is now use the power of persuasion to convince what they are seeing in their mind is real. If they believe that their mana resources are fleeting, they will actually manifest this action on their own.

This spell comes in quite useful for novice practitioners of the spell to become aquainted with mind magic. Eventually the spell can be used for serious mage combat; usually this spell is a good detector of an enemy's skill with magic. If they are able to faze off the spell and break free from the images you create before they loose quite a bit of mana, you know what type of opponent you are facing. It should be noted that this spell, when being under its effects, will feel more and more real based off of the caster's experience with mind magic. It truly is difficult to tell whether one is losing their mana because of a lack of concentration, it is being stolen with an Osmose spell, or if someone is using the power of magical suggestion.

"This mage is strong, let me loose his mana stream, when it is depleted, my allies shall gleam. Sap!

Perhaps one of the more beneficial sides of learning mind spells is that experience from using one type of spell can help in the use of others spells of this category. With enough practice, this spell can be especially useful in deterring weak spell casters. More often than not, inept spellcasters, including monsters, will have only enough mana to enhance themselves for the battle in hopes of getting lucky and overpowering stronger foes. With Sap, they are rendered to using only their physical attacks, though this can backfire in the scenarios that include stronger beasts.

In terms of other uses, Sap does not offer much more that conveying images using magic, but that is not an insignificant aspect at all. However, although it allows non verbal communication, aside from the incantation, it also requires one to be able to see the person whom they wish to convey an image or message to. At Mysidia it is very well known amongst the staff that some of the higher level students will try to use this spell in order to cheat on their exams. We know that they won't cast it in class considering that we will know what is happening. They tend to come into the room with a friend while the spell is in effect. Unfortunately for these students, while using this spell, most are receptive to more effects from mind spells. All the staff does when they suspect cheating is project a very loud sound or other annoying occurrence to these students.

The basics in understanding conveying images to others via magic has lead to a diverse selection of spells that can put the target into an experience they truly believe is happening, the next spell amongst white mind spells will have to deal with immobilization, however this will be through hypnosis.

Iv, High White Mage

Author's note: Wow, it has been a really long time. But on the bright side, I'm not dead! Just finished with a paper for a grad school class and I really can't believe I had the energy to write this chapter! For those of you all who are new to this stuff, thanks a whole lot for reading/adding to favorites. Also your help has made me realize just how sloppy I've been recently. So before I get too ahead of myself, I'm going to go over every chapter for typos, and fix some of the incantations. Thanks for sticking with this story guys and I promise it can only end two ways, either it's finished or I am. Just don't expect an onslaught of chapters. I think I blew the last of my creative energy for today. And yes, I'm spelling it magick now.


	27. Sleep

The Tomes: Section V Mind Alteration Spells: Sleep

To the advanced practitioner of magickal arts,

Sleep is as necessary as food and air for all living things. It gives the body the time it needs to rejuvenate it and prepare for the next day; for us mages, it is quite important to mana regeneration in that it allows our minds to rest and subconsciously rebuild our mana aura. We naturally succumb to it after a long days work, though some of us require more or less than others, it is something we all need. There are cases where insomniacs, those who cannot find it in their mind to sleep and narcoleptics who fall asleep at any given moment. It is an interesting aspect of all living things and there has yet to be much of a magical analysis of sleep and dreams, but I'm certain that Mysidia will find the time to direct the study of dreams given the propensities of mind alteration magick. While it is most often a good thing, sleep is not something one would want to do in the heat of battle and as such one mage decided to create a spell that would put its target to sleep in an inconvenient moment. Such as the case for assassins in the middle of the night, sleep can prove to be advantageous to the party using it against their foes in combat.

Exhaustion is the key to making the Sleep spell function properly, I have noted in the Drain spell tome that the effects of being targeted by such a spell left me feeling tired as if for days without sleep. That effect was a literal and permanent effect of a magick spell. When it comes to the actual sleep spell, it is much more efficient manawise to make the victim believe that they are in need of sleep than to actually take their energy in the first place. Once again the power of suggestion is needed in order to truly make the target fall asleep; but it must also remain there considering that the Sleep spells illusion of exhaustion does function in putting the target into sleep. The reason why is that just as the case of normal sleep, the body will awaken when it is fully rested, or in the case of battle, when it is jolted into action. To maintain the unnatural sleep requires the basunic principle of constant fueling of mana to the spell and focus of the sleep spell. If one wishes to simply subdue a target, the sleep spell works quite well against common criminals who do not boast impressive magickal defenses.

In order to make this spell effective against the magickaly resilient, one must delve into more creative sleep spells. Initially, merely putting the thought of feeling tired and sleepy into the mind of the target should be the focus of new practitioners of the Sleep spell. The next part, however, requires the dangerous aspect that some of the mind alteration spells bring with them. As Iv had mentioned in the Fog spell, some spells require an understanding of the target personally, and for most mages, that means that mana must be used to enter the thoughts of the target. The maintaining of the spell varies by target. Some merely need the thought of being tired to be reverberated in their mind; others require a dream to be set forth in motion, this is why mind intrusion is needed. For a dream to be created and supported, it needs people, places, and object that your target is familiar with. Once you have located these important points, it is necessary to keep them flowing from point to point, and all of this requires mana to be added to the spell. Not only is this taxing on mana reserves, but the Sleep spell puts its caster in jeopardy of the targets thoughts and, if they are focused to much on the spell, from other combatants.

Eventually one should be able to get a grasp on this process and be able to spend less time delving into a target's mind risking their safety and more time keeping the spell in effect. It should be noted that this spell can function on multiple targets by involving the targets in somewhat of a "mass hallucination", a situation where all are experiencing the same subconscious experience, but the mana required the spell is monumental.

There is one such case where, by use of the Sleep spell, an individual was keen on the use of the spell, but conveyed a perversion of the spell upon an entire town. Being the town's magickal expert, he contributed greatly to the town, but personally felt unappreciated and at times held with suspicion. Seeking fame, he conjured a large Sleep spell that put over forty people in the town into the same dream. However, what he did with the sleep spell next was an amazing work of magick, but an immoral choice to be done with magick. In his "dream" everyone saw him as a leader and treated him like royalty, but they were all able to walk and go about their lives whilst "asleep".. But the cost of performing a spell that was that he needed to maintain its effect on two fronts, the first being that the spell needed a constant fueling of mana and the other being the range of his Sleep spell. To solve his first issue, he made sure that the townsfolk did not leave his radius of effect, but to address his need for mana was something that had proven he had planned this event. Ethers are potions that restore magickal auras for mages, but being highly expensive they are only to be used in emergencies. The sleep magician however, foresaw his need for ether and as such researched his ingredients and realized that the townspeople could easily grow the ingredients and make ethers; this portion fit in perfectly into his hypnotic town scheme, he would create the guise of the towns specialty being ether potions while maintaining this ruse. The main problem with such a plan is that while it is possible to maintain a spell for a very long period of time, even with ether potions, there are still other dramatic effects of attempting such a feat. Eventually this magician Began to grow mad from supporting the spell for so long. Eventually, the mage died from madness and exhaustion, thus releasing the town from the spell that had gone on for such a long time. It was not until weeks after this event, that a representative from Mysidia visited the town seeking to create a commercial alliance with the town that created ether potions much faster than others is when the story came to light for all. The representative had propositioned the leaders for a contract and soon heard the story of how they "suddenly" began to create the potions; it was not until it was mentioned what the date was and the diary of the wayward mage was found that it was known what had transpired in the town for months.

"Mind alteration powers, make my foe experience the feeling of sleepless hours. Sleep!"

While it may appear that there can be nothing worse than meddling with a targets internal thoughts, it is highly debatable that the effects of the next spell are worse in their area of specialization.

Ebon, High Black Mage

Note: Hooray a new chapter to begin June with! As always, constructive criticisms are encouraged in the review section.


	28. Confuse

The Tomes: Section V Mind Alteration Spells: Confuse

To the advanced practitioner of magickal arts,

The staple in any form of combat knows thy enemy, since the beginning of history armies chose to delegate colors for uniforms of their troops in order to clarify who it was that needed to be terminated. Obviously a traveling group of adventurers know who is who and what to attack. But what happens when this basic perception is thrown for a loop and suddenly one is not sure who the enemy is? Here in lies the principle for the creation of the Confuse spell, one such spell whose sole purpose is to cause disarray amongst opponents. Rather than inflicting a physical obstruction or even physical damage, why not leave the destruction of one's enemies to their own works and devices?

Casting this spell might sound a bit like the Blink spell in terms that it is a distortion of images, but rather than attempting to alter the physical, the purpose of this spell is to alter perception from the mind itself. There quite different ways to actually go about confusing foes. As with any mind alteration spells, the degree of intensity will bring with it increasing levels of risk to the safety of the caster. First, let us begin with the weaker, novice version of the Confuse spell, which is to initially get the target to attack their allies. A simple way of doing this is entering the target's mind through a trance, and then using mana to alter their visual perception of their allies, usually by turning their visual representations into beasts and monsters alike; even at this level it should be noted that it would also be best to alter any sounds that the enemy's allies would emit as an attempt to break through the Confuse spell by literal voices of reason. By now one should definitely note that this spell gains maximum effectiveness regardless of apprentice or expert versions when the target should be in a party so that they may attack them in their state of confusion. Also, it is imperative to maintain the illusion with a constant infusion of mana, thus giving the spell basunic properties. Upon undertaking the next step in creating a better illusion would be to create the legitimacy in the target's mind that their allies have truly become monsters by actually conveying the grizzly transformation from people into monsters. Even then, this may not be enough for those with enough willpower to see through the Confuse spell, that is why more mana must be used in order to create a series of images by the "monsters" that they have actually turned on and attacked your target.

Using the full version of this spell leads to much more success in terms of getting the target to attack their foes, but as with all of the expert versions of mind alteration spells, it requires the caster to delve deep into the targets mind in order to gain relevant information for use in the creation of the illusion. With this version, instead of altering visual perception, the caster needs to alter the mental perception of the targets view on their party. One of the simplest catalysts for the Confuse spell is to set off pure unadulterated rage by finding what is most upsetting about a party member to the target then unleashing the thought exponentially. In hindsight, this spell is more true to berserking a target than the actual Berserk spell. Obviously when one reaches a more adept skill level with the Confuse spell, it can be made applicable amongst multiple targets, thus magnifying the effect.

Even further into the complexities of the Confuse spell, some have found that there can be an inversion of this spell which makes the target believe that they are on the caster's side. Some have compared this aspect to be parallel with the charming abilities that lamias tend to invoke in order to turn the tables in their favor. Like the monster's ability, the focus should be made into not inspiring rage against or anger against their fellow companions, but to cloud their judgment. This yields more benefit to the caster if the caster can convey a believable enough thought that makes the target actually devote healing abilities and even put them in harms way to protect the caster.

Being under the influence of a Confuse spell is as real as the caster permits it to be. While most mages, particularly black mages, have a degree of understanding of illusions they are prepared to see through such magicks of novice spell casters. But in one case, I recall a Confuse spell that worked in the opposite fashion described earlier. A witch had chosen me to do her bidding, while there was the normal effect of me attacking my allies because of an artificial allegiance to her, there was also another effect that made it abundantly clear in hindsight how experienced she was with the spell. I felt enamored to the malignant spellcaster, a point to which it felt sincere at the time. It was only after she was captured, that we realized she had tapped into the confusion magic as means of luring men from a nearby village to do her own bidding. She had repeated this process in other places, when the townsfolk discovered her plot, she ensnared men she had already controlled before and used them as personal protection. Once she was finished with their service, she sent them to their doom by having them walk off cliffs or drowning themselves.

As denoted by its uses, the Confuse spell is one of the more dangerous spells available in The Tomes and as such permission to learn this spell is not given quite often. The deception in this spell can be greatly abuse just as, if not more than the Sleep spell. Some have sought to use the confuse spell in situations ranging from the subversion of opinions, to constructing an army of unwilling soldiers through the use of this spell. Thankfully, no one has truly been able to maintain this much of a persuasive illusion. There are far too many minds to understand and control at once; furthermore the amount of mana required for such a spell is far higher than other basunic mind spells. Given all of these difficulties, there have been those who did risk everything to control other on a massive scale with the Confuse spell. Records of such attempt showed that when the would be "leader" of these armies gained control of and induced illusions of over twenty people, he suddenly lost consciousness and never regained it, but his body continued living through involuntary actions. It is speculated that when attempting to persuade so many people simultaneously, and while being occupied with their innermost thoughts, it overwhelmed the mind of the wizard.

"One who cannot tell friend from foe brings their party many woes. Confuse!"

It must be noted that in the case of using this spell against monsters, the initial variation need be enough for the Confuse spell to work, but one should only replace monsters as people as part of the magickal illusion. But take care not to go beyond this stage of the Confuse spell, it is best not to delve into the mind of a monster unless one is mentally prepared to be enveloped by the thought processes of beasts. This should be understood as a rule for all mind alteration magick.

Ebon, High Black Mage

Note: Two chapters for two weeks! For those of you taking notice I am trying something a little different with these chapters. I would really appreciate your feedback.


	29. Curse

The Tomes: Section V Mind Alteration Spells: Curse

To the advanced practitioner of magickal arts,

Perhaps a subject that has been delayed too long in The Tomes, magickal curses, or rather the Curse spell and it variations. I'm certain that anyone who as ever been interested in magick has come across the notion of curses in conversation. It is something that has furthered the stigma of mages, more particularly black mages. Already the name itself invokes a stroke of fear, the Curse spell is an enfeeblement upon the target that is conveyed through mind alteration magick. This spell has been reserved as the end of the studies on mind alteration magick because it truly is the final step into the creation of illusions as well as the most dangerous spell in its league.

The main reason this spell is considered to be the most dangerous is the fact that the caster need not supply the spell with mana at all times, there need be only one influx of mana for the spell. Added to the esunic nature of the spell, it is also difficult to detect the magical impurities that have been set upon the target because unlike many other afflictions, which are set upon the body, this spell does not give off a strong magickal aura from the body. Only if one knows what they are looking for will they know where to search for magickal tampering. As such one would need to search the mind to see if there had been any intrusion via magick.

Like all of the mind alteration magick spells, there is a simple, safe variant then there are advanced levels that require more risks. The curse spell requires the caster to first be able to enter the mind of the target and then spur a thought that will lead to debilitations. What types of thoughts that can be used by novice casters has more flexibility with the Curse spell. For instance, one can invoke a thought of being weak to create a self-fulfilling prophecy of inherent physical weakness or even on the magickal direction as well. Think of the effect being on par with the Fear spell, but being more permanent. The way this is achieved is by creating a magickal repeat of the message by having yours or the target's voice constantly reiterate the message.

The advanced form of a Curse spell once again requires the in depth knowledge of a target that can either come from direct acquaintances with the target or by magickally searching for useful sources to place a curse. Once again, this spell can function like the Fear spell in that fears can be a very useful way of manifesting combat inadequacy. However, rather than creating some sort of simple hallucination, the weaknesses and fears discovered by searching a target's mind can and must be utilized differently. As with the novice version, it is required that a repetitive message be created to fulfill the esunic properties of the Curse spell. Delving further into the variants of an advanced Curse spell, there are many forms. One can choose attack the confidence of the target by relaying messages of weakness, doubt, or inadequacy. There is also the option of adding forms of the Fog spell by limiting the target's proficiency at their adept skills. Finally there is the option of conveying a true curse, one that actually mentally torments the victim. This requires the intimate knowledge of the target to create the living nightmare; while its goal is to debilitate the victim, take heed in the creation of this illusion. Like all mind alteration spells, there is a risk of having the effects of the spells coming into contact with your own mind; unlike the other mind alteration spells, there is a higher propensity of this actually happening. The reason being is that the redundant taunting illusion that is created through the curse spell requires much more realism in the creation of the illusion and thus the likelihood of the caster, even though being the crafter of the illusion, being trapped into their own creation.

Being a mage, I have heard and read a great deal about the types of Curse spells that have been laid on targets, but I believe it best to share my prior experience with this spell as I can mostly likely give an elaborate description of the more intense versions of this spell. In the days where I had less experience, I found myself under one of the more dire versions of Curse, but what made this experience different from other times I was afflicted with esunic magic was that the ailment progressively became worse. At first I believed my condition to be one that was related more to exhaustion and my lack of experience in physical combat. The fatigue I felt was actually a Curse that one of the enemy mages we were sent to investigate had placed unbeknownst to me. What made the curse get worse as time passed was the matter in which the spell was cast. Somehow he was able to weave the effects of two spells together into a composite form. He had chosen to mesh the Curse and the Scourge spell together. Already the overall weakness I felt had taken place, but there was also a fragment in my mind in which I held my doubts and fears that began to grow day by day. Somehow this renegade mage, in his madness, discovered how to affect Scourge so that it did not amplify the likelihood of catching a physical illness, but rather a mental illness. When it was discovered by Iv, she then used a highly potent version of the Esuna spell to purge both ailments. From a black mage's standpoint it would appear that when more ailments are inflicted, there is then required more energy in their removal. In the end, it would seem after much interrogation that the this mad mage was trying to pass on the thoughts that were in his own mind onto others, but the reason why shocked many of us at Mysidia. By chance, he had been afflicted by both types of esunic ailments in the world that he had inflicted upon me; somehow the ailments merged together in an unreal fashion and created his mental instability, but out of it came the understanding of how two different spells could be merged. While the study of inflicting and merging multiple status ailments has much promise. The council of Mysidia has deemed it too much of a dangerous area to experiment with and would prefer to study cases, much like the one with our "mad" mage, have occurred "naturally".

"Thoughts of weakness, inadequacy, or an empty purse; compared to them this is much worse. Curse!"

Being an esunic ailment, there is a developed recovery medicine for the Curse spell. The magic cross allows the esunic energies enchanted on the cross to remove the mental illusions. This is achieved by placing the item on the head of the afflicted, seeing as the spell's focus in on the mind, then held there until the magickal energies have been purged. Usually this is made known with the visible aura that leaves the victim. While on the subject of enchanted items, there is a known blade known as the Ancient Sword, a blade kept away in the mountains, one that has been known to invoke an ancient version of the Curse spell. This adds to the argument for those have theorized that there were civilizations that preceded ours, and adds to the mystery of how advanced they were seeing as they were able to enchant a blade with such a debilitating effect and one that has retained its potency throughout the ages.

This concludes the study of mind alteration magick, and for those who did not feel inclined to manipulate the mind should be warned about the next section, one that bends the fabrics of existence.

Ebon, High Black Mage

Note: Whew! Finished with mind alteration. A tad late on the release, but its still Tuesday! Also, I have added a poll to get an understanding of why you all have read this work. I really do like input! Even constructive criticism!


	30. Teleport

The Tomes: Section VI Matter Reconfiguration Spells: Teleport

To the advanced practitioner of magickal arts,

The study of magick has lead spellcrafters through many paths, it has allowed for the study of our natural world and it has also introduced humans to the study of things that are not entirely explainable. You have read how magic can be used to create energies normally only created by nature, create physical barriers and illusions, and warp visual and mental perception. However, one of the most intrusive properties in spellcasting upon the nature world is known as matter reconfiguration spells. Matter is everything in our world that is physically tangible, even the very air we breathe is composed of many different types of matter. Anything that is not matter is the release of energy from one source of matter to other matter or the outside world. One of the best examples is fire: energy is unleashed in this form from sources such as wood, which is matter. The spells in the coming section involve changing the properties of matter of one object into the properties of another. Some will involve moving matter from one location to another without physical exertion.

The study of alchemy is one of the earliest roots in the study of matter magic in that alchemists searched for means of turning different elements, not to be confused with elemental magicks, into other elements. One of the more popular theories for the rise of this study was to transmute lead into gold, thus making the discovery of such a craft very desirable. However, this course of action proved fruitless. When these studies were picked up by mages at Mysidia many important discoveries were made. One of the earliest was the discovery of the means to move an object from one location to another, giving birth to the Teleport spell.

Being able to move an object from one place to another almost instantaneously might sound like a maddening concept at first, but in truth there are far more difficulties with the spell rather than with this initial action. Accomplishing this requires one to have had some experience with following through with images in the mind. What was discovered about this spell is that teleportation requires a definitive image of where the object would be teleported. Therefore casters of this spell know that it is a two phase spell. The first is choosing where the object will be teleported. This is done by magickally creating an image that will stay in the mind of the caster; much like the way mind alterations spells function. Then the second part, the more difficult portion is being able to literally move the object via magick. To accomplish this a very distinctive image of the object must be taken into consideration of the caster, otherwise the object may not be teleported completely. Once a definitive image is secured in the mind, then is the time to teleport the object by channeling mana pulling apart the very miniscule matter that everything is made of. These particles are known as molecules, very small particles invisible to the eye. Anything made of matter is comprised of these tiny molecules, therefore in order to make use of all matter spells requires the caster to understand what molecules are. Depending on the object, the molecules are different. In order to fully understand them one must magickally create images in their mind of the different types of molecules that comprise matter. When that second step of creating an image of the object being teleported is implemented, it is not only a visual image of the object about face. One has to fully examine the object magickally to create a full representation of it in the mind in order to completely teleport it.

Once the prerequisites for this spell have been satisfied one can finally be able to do what was presumably inconceivable. Once the molecular image of the object being teleported has been constructed, all the caster need do is move this image to the location of the first image created by breaking down the object pertaining to the spell and reconstructing it at the location first chosen. However, while moving objects proved to be quite useful the speculation of moving a person from one place to another was not far off. The trouble with this was that moving a living person yielded disastrous results at first. The trouble didn't lay with teleporting the person and recombining the molecules correctly; nay, it was the fact that the person teleported back dead. It would seem that the Teleport spell brought living things back with out their hearts beating. During the early parts of the creation of this spell, it had not yet been discovered that electrical magicks could be used to start the heart beating again, but after that discovery researchers soon found their way back into the theory of teleporting someone from place to place alive without the use of potions or high level healing magick.

This was accomplished by being able to have an electrical charge placed on the target just at the moment when they were teleported back, somewhat comparable to the Stun spell. Another off shoot of the difficulties of this spell were incased with the prospect of being able to teleport oneself. Doing this does not allow for any margin of error. The caster must be near perfect in their timing of the electrical charge to revive them from the experience. I myself recall the first time I used Teleport. Tearing away at every fabric of my material existence instantaneously was perhaps so quick that I felt no pain; however the return to this world in one piece was hallmarked by the sudden and literal shock of being brought back to life. Painful at first, but then followed by a numb sensation, I then found myself considerably weakened by the spell. Eventually anyone who practices this spell frequently enough become accustomed to the pain associated with revival and thus can be on their feet in a matter of seconds.

With many spells, there comes with the Teleport spell an offensive option, truly it is not nearly as difficult as one might imagine. The spell is essentially the version used for transporting objects. Because there is no method of heart stimulation involved, the target is teleported with their heart stopped. Take note that this method should be reserved for the most desperate of times as its effects are life and death for the target, however if one wishes to capture a target alive, all they need do is use the life form version of Teleport. Take note that while this spell works effectively on those without experience in magick, there are those, even not magickally knowledgeable that can still sense the desired effect of the spell and will fight back against the effects of the spell with their willpower in order not to succumb to them and more often than not succeed at doing this if the caster does not have a massive amount of experience with this spell.

"Magickal energies move matter to make this journey short. Teleport!"

Finally it should be noted that there is a version of this spell, Warp, which will be elaborated upon by Ebon. While the differences in the two spells are subtle, they do differentiate themselves.

The next spell that will be ventured upon has to do with compression of matter, if one is curious as to what the spell entails, then seek out this next book.

Iv, High White Mage

Note: Wow, this chapter too a lot of energy! Posted early this week because of my tardiness last time.


	31. Mini

The Tomes: Section VI Matter Reconfiguration Spells: Mini

To the advanced practitioner of magickal arts,

Manipulating the very fabric of existence is something that many have sought to accomplish either via chemical compounds or through magick. If you have read the previous book in The Tomes, you should be well aware of being able to move an object's particles from one location to another, now we shall branch away from the translational propensities of matter spells and engage into the reconfiguring of matter. If you have ever traveled a long distance then you should be well acquainted with the large amounts of supplies that need to be carried. One mage decided that he did not wish to burden himself or anyone else with his vast amount of supplies he took on his treks. But how does one go about actually making objects easier to carry? One could lessen the weight of the object by using magick to share the burden of the object, but that would still leave a bulky, but albeit light, object. Then it occurred that the hassle of having large amounts of equipment and supplies could be avoided if one could just condense them.

Yet another question remained, how would one go about doing this? It is a common piece of knowledge amongst experts in matter reconfiguration magic that matter cannot be created nor destroyed. True when a monster is blasted by magick, particularly through Fire and Thunder spells it would seem that there is nothing left of the beast and it has been "destroyed". While what was once a creature is now a memory, the matter in which it was made up of is still present in our world, it has just been dispersed into the atmosphere. This is known as the law of conservation. When dealing with matter reconfiguration magick, it is most important to realize that all matter manipulated with such magick has to go somewhere for the duration of the spell. When it comes to the Mini spell, the matter of the object is under constant effect of magick thus making it basunic in nature. When casting the spell, one must envision a layout of all the molecules of the existing object in order to be able to shrink it. Once this has been achieved, the focus of the mana in the spell must be directed at every particle in order to successfully shrink the object. To shrink the object one must pull even amounts of matter from each particle and place the excess material into a dimension via a form of the Teleport spell. The location where the excess matter heads towards depends on the caster. Most mages envision an area that is dark desolate and cold, a place that perfectly preserves the excess materials taken from the object. Some say that this "dimension" could be part of the vast recesses of the universe, other would conjecture that this area is actually a physical location of the caster's mind that has been magickally manifested at a location unbeknownst to even the caster. Whatever the case may be, it is certain that when the basunic effects of the spell have faded, the particles return to their appropriate object in a perfect reverse fashion as to which the spell initially functioned.

Once the object has been shrunk, it conveys the weight that one would suspect an object of its current size might be because the actual particles have been removed and the object has been resized proportion to its original state. One should first try to shrink simple objects such as stones in order to get a better understanding of the spell. While novice casters of the spell will not get near instantaneous one tenth of the original size results, they will see more of a reduction in size by half its original state. The goal in becoming accomplished with the Mini spell should be to be able to get an object in practice with down to a tenth of its size. When it comes to test objects, one can move from a simple object such as a rock to tools and supplies. Being able to shrink supplies greatly benefits travelers. Many successful merchants have hired mages who specialize in the Mini spell to carry their inventory. Though it must be noted that in order to maintain the shrunken object, one must understand that it requires constant fueling of mana and thus limits the number of objects taken and the initial size of the objects. The greater the mass and number of objects, the more mana will be required to maintain the spell. When traveling, it is advisable to release the effects of the spell when resting for the night so that mana can be replenished by sleep.

Of course the question of applying this spell to living things was not far off after this spell became a reliable skill for travel. It is indeed possible to use this spell to shrink living things, ranging from animals and plants to monsters and people. If one wishes to extend their skills with Mini into the realm of shrinking living creatures one should first experiment with plants as they are easier to cast a spell upon since they are stationary and will not resist the effects of being shrunk. The process is essentially the same as with shrinking objects and while it is not the same as the Teleport spell, this spell does not require a rejuvenating jolt since the creature affected is not entirely disassembled but merely molecularly reduced in mass. When it comes to shrinking a person with the Mini spell, there are two directions one can take. The first is completely shrinking the person, making them a tenth of their original size, thus reducing their effectiveness in physical combat since a sword a tenths its size wielded with a tenth of original strength will hardly be dangerous. Then there is the alternative variant that Ebon became quite acquainted with in our journeys. During one of our many battles, Ebon chose to attack the enemy with his knife and began to charge our magickal opponent. Before he was halfway the distance to strike, the enemy let loose his spell and I saw his robes, hat, and dagger fall to the ground. In shock, partly due to the fact that I was unaware of the effects of a Mini spell at the time, I stared at the pile of clothing until I saw a huge fireball and piece of hail bombard the opponent, knocking him to the ground, unconscious. I then noted movement in the clothing and there emerged a tiny version of my good friend Ebon. Moments later, he then started to grow back to his original state; I then realized at that moment that he was not clothed at all and I soon turned away to avoid any further embarrassment. From this anecdote I learned that magick and mana auras seem to be un affected by the Mini spell. So any aspiring spell caster can breathe a sigh of relief that this spell does not affect casting. Also to note from this variation, is that it actually allows for easier capture of a person wanted in that the spell in this form disarms and removes any armor from the target. One could choose to leave the target in this state if they are considered dangerous, or simply hold the spell's effect until an area of containment can be found.

One question that gets asked frequently by those studying this spell is if a particular portion of an object can be targeted. This is by no means a simple feat to accomplish, but I assure you it can be done. When many overzealous, proud, and otherwise cocky students ever bring this subject to my attention in hopes of boasting, I reply to them, "I have much experience with magick and have a vast reservoir of mana, does the word impotence strike terror into your heart?" Of course I have never done this to anyone, but my understanding of this spell today leaves me with no doubt that I could do this.

"Use this spell to make things small, near the point where there is nothing at all. Mini!"

This concludes study on white magick that pertains to matter manipulation and reconfiguration. While the numbers of spells in this category are few, they all prove to be quite different from each other in not only their effects, but their hazards. Take heed, know that the black magick matter spells will require more study and have greater risks.

Iv, High White Mage

Note: A tad late on the update, but still finished! Hope to be back on schedule next week if the upcoming hurricane doesn't do too much damage. As always, I welcome comments, constructive criticism, complaints, and queries!


	32. Warp

The Tomes: Section VI Matter Reconfiguration Spells: Warp

To the advanced practitioner of magickal arts,

One might incur that having a spell of similar function that exists for both white and black magick would seem a waste. True Teleport allows the caster to move objects and people to a predetermined location in a near instant. But what led to the creation of the Warp spell was the notion of being able to correct a literal misstep in an instant.

What again is this notion of being able to correct an error? Is it being able to change the fabric of time? No, as has been stated before, being able to control the movement of time is something that the mages at Mysidia are from accomplishing let alone mastering. The Warp spell still concerns matter reconfiguration in the manner that the teleport spell does, including the jolt of energy to restart the body. However, the key difference lies in the premise of where one wishes to have the person or object relocated. Instead of forming a mental area before disassembling and reassembling the person or object, memory is the key, short term to be precise. The caster of the Warp spell affects the target near instantaneously, pulling apart the molecules of the object and then chooses the location by delving into short term memory and moving the object there. For those confused as to what short term memory actually is, it is the memory that does not stick in our minds because it is not something that will be remembered in the long run. And while it may not seem useful in moving people or objects from one location to another that was possibly only minutes away, or however far back one can recall; the true use of this spell is to essentially save oneself from something like an environmental hazard or trap. Consider the following; imagine if you found yourself in a dungeon, walking down the corridors when suddenly you hear a click sound. To the experienced adventurer this can only mean one thing, that a trap has been tripped and most likely something unfavorable is about to occur. Now there are a few possible outcomes to this. One could choose to continue and brace themselves for the repercussions for the trap, attempt to avoid the effects, or ready warp spells to move themselves to relative safety.

For many mages and travelers alike, the Warp spell helps a great deal when one misguided step that otherwise might have spelled doom instead was corrected in the mere blink of an eye. One must consider though that becoming proficient with this type of reactionary magic takes much more practice and diligence that the Teleport spell. While the two have similar results, their functions make them different. In order to cast Warp, one must envision the molecular breakdown of the target and then quickly delve into their short term memory and near instantaneously reassemble the object in that area. This is very problematic given the time that this spell is cast and to make matters worse, it is of dire importance to be accurate with the spell if the target or plural contain the caster themselves. Implications for incorrectly Warping an object have led to it being merged into another object or worse yet, within a person. As one might expect, this could easily lead to fatal results if one is not careful. It takes years of practice with this spell before one could be fully competent in teleporting other people. Moving oneself is even more strenuous not only considering that one must think faster in terms of reassembling oneself, but also mental burden of doubt of not being able to accomplish such a task. That is why one should most definitely be prepared for the hazards of this spell by practicing on very small objects first and foremost and also are ready to warp an object back to where it initially was. While this last concept may seem to be strange, consider the effects of the spell as a whole. In an attempt to move one self to safety, there is always the likelihood of an error of placement, that is where one can use their short term memory once again to correct the "first" correction. In simpler terms, it is the process of leaving things be as they were in the event the Warp spell does not yield desired effects.

It should also be noted that if one does not fully understand the movement of an object from one location to another via molecular translation, it is highly encouraged to read the Teleport tome as it contains a much more detailed understanding as to how the mechanics of the spell function. In the end, consider the Warp spell as a variation of the Teleport spell. Both spells function with similar premises, but yield different effects. It is in this mage's belief that the risks that are abound with the use of this spell are what have led to the classification of Warp as a black magick spell. Given all the dangers when an error occurs, this is certainly not a spell for the faint of heart.

"Using magicks of matter and lore, send my target to whence they were before. Warp!"

While Warping people and objects don't seem to be that much of an issue in terms of magickal morality, even considering that one is using the same type of magic as its counterpart Teleport, I assure you that the spells to come will be ones that push magic to its limits in terms of its willingness to be used. Changing the very fabric our existence has led to spells that do just this and have and continue to have even larger implications than merging two objects together.

Ebon, High Black Mage

Note: Not too much this time around, what did you expect from clone spells in game! Well, review if you feel it necessary. Thanks for reading, I promise the next spell will have more meat on the bone.


	33. Stop

The Tomes: Section VI: Matter Reconfiguration Spells: Stop

The experienced practitioner in the magickal arts,

Immobility is a subject that has been brought up time and time again throughout this series of books. From the propensities of slowing movement to literally paralyzing though electric currents, time and time again this subject has been addressed. However, it is not the ability to hinder movement that is significant, but the experimentation of various magicks that were used to accomplish the same goal that are important. Thanks to the stun spell, we are ever gaining knowledge in understanding electric currents and what they can be used for, with the slow spell, we have an understanding of how mana can be converted into physical substance that is tangible by a person if only for a short while. This brings me to the latest in spells that concern the ability to hinder movement, or in this case stop it all together.

Stop, being a matter spell, came into conception through mages who were experimenting with ways to alter the molecules that they could see clearly upon focusing a matter spell. Already having created spells like Teleport and Warp, the envisioning portions of the spells needed to execute the desired function left mages observing the molecules themselves in their studies. What was discovered qualified the long held hypothesis that different materials had differently shaped molecules, and that these molecules were not stagnant. The earliest of observations were those of particles of water being observed in its various states. The first being in its liquid form yielded an image of water molecules moving at a rather quick speed, considering the fluid nature of water, this was not surprising. After freezing it with a Blizzard spell, observers were shocked that the movement of the molecules did not reflect the current state of the water. While the water was solid ice, the molecules were still moving but were not moving nowhere near as fast compared to the liquid form. Finally water vapor was created by exposing water to a fire spell within a contained space, thus retaining the material that was started with. Under the matter spell preparation observation it was noted that these particles moved much faster than that of the liquid state.

What can be concluded from this is that the lower the temperature, the slower the molecules will move and thus more rigid a state will the affected matter be. The Stop spell takes this ability to view particles and then "freeze" them. First it must be understood that one does not need to be very adept with Blizzard spells, but rather one does need to understand the spell's functions in order to fulfill the second effect of the Stop spell. Now, it must also be understood that the Blizzard effects are not those that fling shards of ice, but rather the process of removing heat energy from an area, that is the key to making Stop work. In the process of casting Stop, first envision the target object's molecules as how all matter reconfiguration spells begin with, then weave the energy drawing effects of the Blizzard spell into this spell by concentrating on sections of molecules in which to slow down then moving to another section. Take note that doing this requires a large amount of energy due to the concentration needed to maintain an image of the target's molecules, so this means that the "freezing" effect of the Stop spell will not be potent enough for duration of a time no more than a matter of seconds. Of course, if one is already well acquainted with the Blizzard spell, then this portion of Stop will be more effective and thus reduce the amount of mana needed to conjure the image of the molecules.

Take note that when one has cast Stop on an opponent, it literally lowers the temperature of the target, so any exposure to heat via Fire spells or even melee attacks will "thaw" the target out due to the transference of heat energy through friction or translation of heat. Even though one may become advance with this spell, there is only so much one can slow the molecules of a body down so much; it has been theorized that there is a point where these particles stop moving, at a temperature known as absolute zero. However, this actual temperature cannot be achieved because molecules will always decrease in their amount in movement as it gets colder, but will never reach that point because there is no such temperature that is the "coldest".

Being on the receiving end of the Stop spell is quite different from being frozen, incased in ice by the Blizzard spell. With that spell, one's internal core temperature is still not as cold as the surface which is exposed to the ice of the Blizzard spell. This allows the victim of the spell to break free prematurely to the opponent's wishes by either using their own strength or magic to break free. This is not the case with the Stop spell's cold factors. Instead, the very fiber of one's being is being frozen, if only for a few moments. During the course of this period, one cannot act or even think while under this effect. Everything needed to maintain life is frozen to a near complete stop.

Although the Stop spell may seem a bit harmless since it merely preserves a person for a matter of seconds, repeated use is where this spell becomes dangerous. As such case for an example, we return to the mages of Mysidia who have experimented with spells in many shapes and manners. Recovering from the effects of the Stop spell usually involve regaining one's sense of awareness and the heart resuming beating. Since magick used for the spell in the first place is of such high consumption, one cannot maintain the basunic effects of the spell for long due to a strain on concentration. However, one mage choose to cast the spell continuously after brief moments of respite. The danger in this experiment was not only for the participant target, but also the caster. When the spell was cast for the umpteenth time, it seemed that the caster was not adequately "freezing" the molecules which led to him only targeting only specific parts of the body, which in turn concentrated the "freezing" aspects to only a portion of his target. This led to his participant having half of his body "stopped" and with that the heart attempted to push blood into that section of the body, but with the current situation, it put a massive strain on the heart and cause many of the vessels that were not under the influence of the Stop spell to burst; the internal bleeding was much to great for him to have survived and as for the caster, he from casting the spell so many times gave himself a heart attack from the massive mental strain. He was indeed gifted with magick, and his experience with the Stop spell was unmatched, but repeated castings were he and his partner's undoing. Take some relief in the ability of stopping only a portion of a target, even those quite skilled with the spell did not have the potency to accomplish this effect. The true warning is to the caster and when it comes to matter spells, too much time spent on the concentration envisioning of the molecules of the target puts a massive strain, even to accomplished mages.

"Like a chill down the back, this spell will freeze them in their tracks. Stop!"

Once again I find the naming of the spell a bit inappropriate for its function though I must digress that this spell does indeed come close to achieving what its namesake implies, and it is not perfectly effective at accomplishing this it seems that this spell would have made more sense to name as the Slow spell. Alas, this spell was not created before the Slow spell.

The next spell in The Tomes deals with true matter reconfiguration spells, one of two. Here, one will be exposed to what happens when manipulation of matter enters one of its most chaotic forms.

Author's note: Another chapter up! Hooray! I don't know if the weeks to come will get new chapters, but I must thank you all for reading. I didn't know I'd get that many people reading this. As always, constructive criticism is appreciated and swing by the poll for some out of curiosity feedback.


	34. Break

The Tomes: Section VI: Matter Reconfiguration Spells: Break

To the experienced practitioner in the magickal arts,

As has been stated in the beginning of this section of The Tomes, alchemy was the founding, investigative entity in researching methods of transforming matter from one form into another. This process began as somewhat of a selfish endeavor to transform materials into highly valuable gold. However, the main problem with this is that no matter how much magickal energy is put into a spell, the result of such a spell will become unstable and the "gold" will always revert to its original state.

However the way this was remedied was through a discovery of a process known as likeness assimilation. While this sounds like a daunting element of magick to understand, once it is explained, it is not as difficult to understand; though casting the spell will remain daunting. It is essentially ensuring that matter transformed from one form into another. In order to accomplish this, one needs a certain quantity of the original element in order to transform other elements into desired ones. In simpler terms, taking the issue of wanting to turn objects into gold, one needs a sufficient portion of gold to be able to keep the spell active without a constant need for mana, thereby making this spell Esunic. Put into effect, one would first need some gold and a target to create the magickal gold. To complete this process, one needs to envision the substance needed to be turned into gold in the same manner one envisions the targets in all matter spells, the one needs to magickally or physically attach the gold to the target thereby making the target completely made of that one substance. The real material, combined with the magick is sufficient enough to keep the spell in effect. Do note however, that this spell only works with forms of matter that exist as solids in current atmospheric conditions. The molecular movement in solids is slow enough to allow the magick expended on the spell to sufficiently retain the non-intended material in the spell's intended state.

Also note that when casting this spell, one needs to be quite familiar with the substance that is being transmuted with the spell and should have a sufficient supply of raw material to be able to cast a version of Break they can use for the duration of their magickal careers.

This innovation in the field of magick led to a rampant use of counterfeit gold that began circulating around the world and caused a great deal of inflation. Most of the previous means of determining whether or not gil was real or not didn't work in this case since the gold that the coins were made of was now gold in nearly every way thanks to this new process of matter reconfiguration. The first solution to combating the rampant counterfeiting was by having those extremely skilled with white magick casting large spanning Esuna spells on stockpiled amounts of gil. However, this was not a very efficient solution since it did not help track down who was creating all of the fake gil. This lead to the creation of the remedy item known as the gold needle, a small needle that had been enchanted with an Esunic spell specifically engineered to remove enchanted sediment required by the break spell. Interestingly enough, this is the very reason for the naming of the gold needle. not only because of its enchantment aura being a gold hue, but also becuase of the fact of its first implementation, a device to determine the legitimacy of gold. Although creating these items was not easy, the became a somewhat viable way for merchants to determine the legitimacy of gil; if the needle did not loose its enchantment aura, the gold was indeed real, this also helped preserve the number of gold needles available to the currency testers. Eventually with enough underground investigation, the gil was tracked back to a single source, a man who had a falling out with the mages of Mysidia and and was presumed to be dead.

The reason that stone was chosen was because of its embedded principle use in the studies by mages. If you could not from previous books in this collection, you would notice that mages are told to practice with stones and rocks for many of their spells, the reason being that they are inanimate and are usually constituted of a simple set of molecules. Such a basic familiarity sets the stage for the break spell, an otherwise very difficult spell to perform. Even with the familiarity of meddling with rocks and other sediments in early years of a mage's practice, the break spell is by no means a simple feat. Understanding how to successfully cast the spell consistently, let alone mastery takes years of practice, this is one of the most difficult spells to manifest among The Tomes.

For use in battle, this spell is rarely used not because of its inefficiency but because of its rarity. Few mages are actually able to consistently cast this spell to officially make it a viable portion of their spell regiment. When it is used though, it is presumed to be the most effective restraining spell. When dealing with monster, those that are not of earth elemental or bear any resistances to earth attacks can be turned into the sediment of that mage's choice. After they have been turned into stone, all that is needed to finish the creature off is a large force to destroy it once and for all. However upon experimenting on a pile of broken stone that was once a monster, one curious mage decided to use a gold needle on a portion of the remains; this lead to the disturbing result of pieces of monster flesh skewed about the battle field. Do note that if the state of the stone deteriorates further from the magical form, such as being absorbed into the ground, water, or magma the spell somehow becomes irreversible even with the aid of a gold needle and even the original matter used in the spell is lost.

"Of all shapes a materials that are known, let my foe know the form of stone. Break!"

Of course, as with the case with all spells, Break has its share of dangers and abuses. One of the benefits of traveling the world is being exposed to a great deal of experiences and people, art in no question, is one of the more enjoyable things to encounter. Painters and bards are very common amongst larger towns. However when one finds a truly prosperous town some artists are accomplished sculptors, creating lifelike works of art. Indeed upon a visit to such a town, Iv and I were invited to spend a night with one of the more well off citizens in the city who just so happened to be a very accomplished sculptor. Throughout his mansion, statues adorned the halls, each one seeming like they had a story to tell. We were not the only guests spending the night at this artist's home and as we prepared for bed I decided to take another look through the halls of the mansion when I encountered an act of magickal cruelty that I had never, in my most horrendous nightmares, conceived. In another room I overheard a conversation between the other guest and our host. The guest was excited about having a statue being made because he inspired our host.

Unfortunately for the participant in the host's artistic project, he was unaware of the sinister deed in the works, first the host asked him to turn around so that he could begin with the easier part of a statue to create, but it was a ruse for the true means of how the "artist" created his statues. Break was used on our fellow traveler, and before I could help him there was already a new work of art in our host's room, where the host turned and looked at me, contemplating the creation of a new statue no doubt. I immediately called out for Iv whom I hoped would be able to help me suppress this mad mage. As it turned out, he had a great deal of experience in casting the Break spell, he had already managed to ready some sedimentary particles and was already casting a second spell directed at myself. Before I had a chance to complete the incantations for a Blizzard spell, his break spell was already taking effect on my body. It started on my feet, and I quickly felt the loss of sensation in my feet as if one had cut off circulation to them. However unlike the natural occurrence, this loss of feeling did not cause me to loose balance but rather succumb to an effect similar to the Stop spell. As control and feeling of my body quickly crept upwards, there was at that moment a great deal of panic that struck my consciousness as the spell completed itself. Then, in what seemed in an instant, I found the feeling returning to my body and could visually see the spell reversing in process. Before me I saw Iv, completing an Esuna spell and asking me if I was alright. I reassured her of my state and proceeded to explain what that man, now lying on the ground dead, had been doing to people. I also noted the sizable hammer that he had laying next to his body; I suspect this was the reason that Iv took such drastic actions against the man. After clearing our heads of what had just transpired we then realized that all of the statues that occupied the mansion were no doubt real people who had visited his manor at one time. After freeing the victim previous to myself, Iv and I set out to speak with the town's authorities and returned to the estate the next day and proceeded to undo the Break spell on all of the statues.

As it turns out this "artist" had been doing this nefarious deed for years. Some of the victims that were freed, by Iv's Esuna spells and what supply of gold needles we had, turned out to have been petrified from over two decades previous. At first, when we freed them they looked like the living forms that were turned into their stone representation, but after a matter of minutes, they quickly aged into what they would appear at the current time. This curious effect is currently under investigation at Mysidia. As for the lesson learned from this incident, at any time an artist would choose to present a statue or sculpture, a gold needle needs to be applied in order to determine the legitimacy and lawfulness of the artist.

One more spell belongs to the categorization of Matter reconfiguration spells, and it is one that perhaps is one of the most dangerous magick spells to have been crafted. It is one of the few spells that even practitioners of Matter spells come into ethical conflict of using.

Ebon, High Black Mage.

Author's Note: With a three month unexplained hiatus, I believe I owe readers an explanation; first, it was the fact that it was the finals grind and the end of my summer semester, second was the fact that I had used up my creativity for the moment and felt I needed a break. And third, this would have come out a moth earlier if I hadn't been occupied with another game that came out. In any case, I hope you enjoyed this meaty chapter.


	35. Toad

The Tomes: Section VI: Matter Reconfiguration Spells: Toad

To the experienced practitioner in the magickal arts,

Tales have told of mages, wizards, witches and all sorts of magickal users alike being able to bend the elements to their will. Among stories about what we magick users are capable of, none have had such an effect on the opinions of others like the stories of magick spells that transform living things from one form into another. However, accomplishing this is far from the reach of even the most skilled mages.

As far as Matter reconfiguration spells rank, this spell requires the most prior knowledge in order begin attempting to cast the spell. However it should be noted that while this spell is known as Toad, and will be referred to as such through the course of this book, the spell is known amongst mages as the polymorph spell. It essentially allows the caster to change the form of a living creature into that of another species. The spell came about through the experiments and curiosities of mages here at Mysidia, and actually was developed quite recently. Our generation of mages was part of the first to develop and use this spell.

A polymorph spell requires two parts, first is the initial viewing of the intended target that is required by all matter spells. However the second requires experience as well as the information from this tome. In order to transform a target from one species to another, one needs to be familiar with the species they are transforming targets into. This is mainly the reason as to why this polymorph spell came to be known as the Toad spell. Being situated close to a vast marshland, there was not much choice of wildlife to study that was not either too dangerous or monstrous. Thus one of the more populous and easier to trap creatures en masse were frogs. In hindsight, choosing frogs and toads proved to be quite important to the study of polymorphing.

During the studies of the frogs' and toads' biology, we noted how similar in structure the amphibians were to humans in terms of some organs and skeletal structures. This confirmed some of the theories held by mages of old about the origins of species in which life had originated from the sea and eventually found its way onto land and became the complex organisms that inhabit the terrestrial world, including ourselves. Amphibians come into this theory as the bridge between the land and the sea; as creatures that were the first to adapt to breathing oxygen directly from the atmosphere, they have a basic aspect that all land creatures share. However, what separates a polymorphing from the Teleport and the alchemical Break spells is that one is attempting to change the form from one living state into "another" living state. In order to do this, crafting the spell required an in depth understanding of the physiology of frogs and toads and one of the only ways to understand this is by actually dissecting and examining the internal organs of said animals. Being small and somewhat simple life forms, it did not take long to fully grasp how the frogs and toads live and move.

Taking into consideration of the basic mechanics of Matter spells, in that matter cannot be created nor destroyed, it is not possible to polymorph a creature into a larger one. But when changing a creature into a smaller one, there are still complications besides temporal matter storage addressed with the Mini spell. The target must have sufficient amounts and varieties of matter to be transformed into the target creature. Once again, toads and frogs proved to have been good subjects to study in hindsight due to their simplicity and size, since neither constraint complicates turning most targets into these amphibians, the spell proves to be useful against most living organisms. Only those creatures which are constituted of one or a few types of materials are immune to such a spell. Also those with high magickal resistences are more than likely able to evade the effects of this spell.

To cast the Toad spell, one needs to envision the molecules of the target being transformed and implemented into those of a frog, this is easiest done by changing each part of the body and translating it into the form what it was previous into of that of a frog; this includes internal and external parts. In terms of transforming the target back into its original state, the esunic properties of the spell mean that reversing the process is done by dispelling the magick through the effects of an Esuna spell. There is also the maiden's kiss remedy, an item created and named after the folktale story's answer to the conundrum of the polymorphed prince. The item is essentially a statuete of a maiden's head enchanted with esunic properties specifically designed to restore the true form of the target by purging mana used for the spell that retains the polymorphed shape of the person afflicted. The reason that this spell is permanent sans any further magickal intervention and the Mini spell is not is due to the nature of what the spells are attempting to accomplish. Mini spells attempt to shrink the target into an "unnatural" state for that specific target, but the Toad spell attempts to change the target from one "natural" state into another. This effect does not require the constant fueling of mana like the mini spell because the target in frog form is a natural state that does not need any magickal intervention besides the initial casting of the spell.

"Reduce and change this person's features, reduce them to this simple creature. Toad!"

The benefits of using this spell are ideally for suppression in the case of battles, others have used it for capture of fugitives. During the first days of this spell's existence, Iv and I became acquainted all to well with the capabilities of the Toad spell.

Having been charged with experimenting with the Toad spell, Iv and I set out into the wilderness for the first test runs of the spell. We were to use it on various wildlife and were encouraged to use it against monsters whenever possible. We were part of four pairs of mages sent out in the cardinal directions from Mysidia to test the Toad spell, and after weeks of experimentation in the wilderness, iv and I learned that most creatures were affected by the spell, some had more magickal resistences than other, but the one type of creature that seemed to be immune to the spell were black flans.

Eventually we found our way to the coast of the continent one day and surprisingly spotted one of our colleagues in the distance on the shore line with a cart. His name was Velmoire, he had been tasked with experimenting with the Toad spell in another direction. As Iv and I approached his location, we noticed that he was alone, his partnered white mage was missing. When Iv and I finally arrived at his location, we inquired about why he was in the area. Velmoire stated that he had become lost and in disarray after he and his partner, Amber were ambushed by monsters; he went on by saying that he could not help her after the battle because the wounds inflicted by severe blunt trauma were far too severe. I found his story suspicious and while Iv continued questioning him, I looked into his cart and noticed the vast array of magickal supplies. There was no way that that his partner should have died given his description of what happened and considering the supplies he had with him. Velmoire caught a glance of what I was doing and immediately knocked Iv over and launched an icicle shard past my face.

It would seem we were close to unraveling his ruse of smuggling supplies from Mysidia. Given the selection and amount of supplies, he was probably intending on boarding a ship and never returning. The battle commenced, Iv had just gotten back on her feet was readying a restraining spell in the way that we deal with all rogue mages, be it a Silence or Stun spell. I was preparing a Thunder spell to avoid any possible inaccuracies and therefore hazards to Iv, who was on the side opposite. Velmoire directed his attention and faced Iv, and unleashed his spell surprisingly quickly, and I noticed that Iv's robes fell in heap. It seemed that he would be quite the adversary considering for being a black mage, he was able to use a Mini spell so easily. It didn't matter much because as Iv and I had learned from past experiences, that the Mini spell has no effect on a spell caster's magickal powers. I was just about ready to see Iv's retaliation when I instead heard it. A loud croak came from her direction. It would seem that Velmoire indeed was putting to use the practice and experimentation from our assignment and had taken no hesitation in using the Toad spell against a human; I believe that this may have been the same fate that his partner had faced days before. I let loose a wicked bolt of lightning, but he anticipated the attack and was already at work preparing another spell.

I felt the impact of an invisible concussive force, but remained standing. However the feeling I would experience next was unlike any other. A sudden sensation of cold came over me, I felt a nauseating feeling in my stomach and my limbs began to warp from their extremities, I could feel my own bones melding together and changing shape and position. Then came the addition of a melting sensation. Like a Fire spell but internal I felt as the process of losing my skeletal structure. It was not long before I realized that I had diminished in size and stature and what spell I had been hit with. I tried to release another spell but was only able to let out the croak of the amphibious body I now inhabited. Being the early days of the spell's development, maiden's kisses did not exist yet and thus I resorted to searching through the interiors of my robes for my only vial of a remedy potion, a cure all for status ailments. I found it hard to move in this new body and difficult to concentrate on where I had the potion that was my only hope. Eventually I was able to locate the flask and begin the arduous task of removing the cork without a firm grip on the glass container due to the properties of a frog's skin.

After a minute of struggling, I was finally able to get the vial open and drink the potion. Luckily, the esunic properties of the Toad spell were just like any other esunic status related spells. I quickly felt process begin to reverse itself and was able regain my original form. Again in the face of a current streak of magickal bad luck, I found myself without any protection of armor but fortunately Velmoire, confident in his own abilities was no longer paying attention to Iv and I and was instead focused on his cart of goods. I then readied a powerful fireball and immediately sent it towards Velmoire's back. It set him ablaze and in his panicked frenzy of being on fire, he made a mad dash for the cart of magickal supplies and remedies, he crashed into it and caught the cart on fire as well.

Unfortunately troubles for Iv and I were just beginning as well as experience with the toad spell. I then proceeded to deal with the situation at hand; I called for Iv, just before realizing the state she was still in. She came out of the pile of her belongings which I then collected and search through to help her. Being a white mage, Iv had a collection of remedies for various ailments except the actual remedy potion, the only thing that saved me in this predicament. This did not bode well for her chances of returning to her true form in the near future and as for using the stockpiled amount of magick items that Velmoire had, those went up in flames along with Velmoire. I decided to head out with what supplies we had left as well as Iv's belongings and with the mage gone toad in tow. For the remainder of the day I was bearing the encumbrance of our supplies on my back and Iv in my hands. She understood what I was saying about the situation that had transpired and about the report we would give to the authorities at Mysidia,though the only responses I received from her were the occasional nods, croaks, and glances from Iv.

The next day, about halfway back to Mysidia, I scolded Iv again for not packing a remedy potion for unexpected situations. I surmised that she had calmed down a bit since she didn't respond by puffing up, the usual response for an angered toad, and instead kept quiet. In just a few minutes Iv began to become restless and eventually leapt from my hands; I thought she just wanted to stretch or get her bearings back, so I decided to stand back and rest for a bit. But then Iv started off in the other direction. I called out to her to no avail; she just kept on going towards a body of water. I pondered if this act was out of curiosity of her new body so I followed out of curiosity.

Then, my suspicions of what may be transpiring were confirmed by the following. Iv just sat at the water's edge staring at the insects, then proceeded to hunt and eat them. I asked her aloud as to what she was doing. I didn't receive a response, not a glance or a croak. Suddenly, out of almost nowhere, a helldiver came down upon Iv and was in the process of bringing her into the skies with it. In nearly an instant I fired a precisely accurate icicle shard straight after the helldiver which was immediately killed. Before I could react, Iv had already plummeted and hit the ground. I dashed for her location and already had a potion in hand. Iv was on the ground stunned from the fall, her current body was batterd and had a few lacerations. I attempted to give her the potion to drink but she was unable to drink it, or rather Iv was not willing to do so. What I had surmised in my mind about the Toad spell had finally taken into effect. I had theorized that since the spell essentially transforms the body of the target, which could only affect the physical and not the mental. However, what had taken place within a day's worth of time was that the physical body, more particularly the brain, could not contain human consciousness for long and eventually consciousness would equivocate to that which the body was turned into. Iv had been losing her mind and transforming into the thought patterns of a toad, that is why she refused the potion; because a Toad knows not what a potion is and therefore won't drink it. It also explained why she left my company in the first place. The situation was growing dire and resorted to a rather dangerous course of action. I needed to have Iv regain her human consciousness, but I didn't have any medicinal remedies nor was I skilled with any white magic.

Then it occurred to me that if I reverse engineered the process of the Toad spell itself, there was a chance of returning her to her original shape and be able to give her the potion. I realized that since we all were practicing the Toad spell and as such learned how to do so in the same manner, including Velmoire's variant, I might be able to infiltrate the magick around Iv and reverse the process, I'd have an toad specific Esuna spell. After casting the backwards spell, Iv returned to her original form, retaining the same wounds in the same locations from being a toad, I immediately gave her a powerful potion and was able save her.

Black magick is about offensive magick, while there are spells that can destroy, freeze, and turn people to stone, I can think of none as destructive as the Toad spell. It alters the shape of the body and the proceeds to slowly destroy the mind and reverting it to a primal thought machine. This is why the study of magick is dangerous; the unintended effects of spells are the occupational hazards for mages.

This concludes the studies of matter reconfiguration spells. There is a class of spells higher than the ones of this area. The next sections of The Tomes contain spells dealing with raw power, considered by Mysidia as Master level spells.

Ebon, High Black Mage.

Author's Note: … Longest Chapter Ever. I told you all these chapters were going to get in depth. As always your reviews are greatly appreciated.


	36. Swap

The Tomes: Section VI: Reconfiguration Spells: Swap

To the experienced practitioner in the magickal arts,

Amongst many a discrepancies on what wizards can and cannot accomplish with magick has been the debate for years at Mysidia, however the main problem lies with being able to understand the difference between what cannot be achieved and what has not yet been able to be achieved with magick. One such idea refers to the ability to move one's consciousness into another vessel, or if the very notion is even possible.

Suffice it to say, we have not yet discovered a spell that has those exact results. Instead the labors of magickal research led to the discovery of a different spell. It began with the proposition between myself and Ebon wanting to experiment with the concept of moving one's consciousness to another person or even a properly enchanted object. The reason such a spell was even met with our investigation was due to the ever tempting possibility of cheating death, but there were those who thought of other more temporary uses such as the event that one would ever need to speak with a person that may have been incapacitated into a deep sleep or state of unconsciousness if only to give a final will and testament. With such prospects from a theoretical spell, I embarked.

First we began with experiments on lesser creatures attempting transfer states of minds into the other. The problem laid with the ability to observe any noticeable effects There was not any clear means of discovering whether what we wanted to accomplish had actually taken place. We had even used two different species of animals to see if we could see any changes of behavior. When we did include a dog and a cat into our experiment, the result was the same, but we were still not certain if the consciousness had adapted to the body of the recipient or if all the magickal energies were even affecting the targets. Because of the inability to accurately know what was happening with the spells we sought permission of the Arch Mage of Mysidia to volunteer ourselves as part of the experiments. Because of the many events that had taken place with mind and matter spells between students at Mysidia, rules and sanctions had been implemented to avoid any further death or injury of mages at Mysidia.

I first focused my energies into my mind in order to fully understand every fiber of my being, in a sense, grasp my existence in one large essence. I then diverted my mind simultaneously to Ebon and did the same with his mind. Then I attempted to use the mana around me to exchange these energies between the two of us. When I opened my eyes, I was still looking at Ebon as I did before and it appeared that nothing had actually happened; Ebon indeed noted that he felt transference of energy between the two of us, but noted no obvious change in either of our mental states. After hours of attempting to transfer consciousness between the two of us, we both felt magickally exhausted even though I was the only one of us who was using mana.

The next day, Ebon arrived later to our experiment's session after staying with another pupil and demonstrating various black magick spells. I then proceeded to move the energies between us as I did before and alas nothing had happened. Just as I was attempting to use my magick I noticed that I was somewhat magically exhausted as if I had been casting spells all day. I didn't mind the distraction much as at the time I believed it was the result of me putting too much energy into the spell the first time. I then proceeded to attempt the mental exchange once more but again there was no success for the results I was seeking. As I readied my energies again for further casting of this experimental spell I noted that on every other attempt I felt as if the mana around me had been depleted substantially. It then became apparent to Ebon and I that we were exchanging magickal auras with the spell I was using.

I then conjectured if any other properties were transferred between Ebon and I. I certainly didn't feel any changes to my temperament or personality those dozens of times that I experimented with the spell prior. Before the next session or experiments, I decided to see if the spell transferred any vitality properties between targets. I decided to spend much of the day exerting myself physically as to make a difference between myself and Ebon in the same manner that he has magickally exhausted the day before. When we began our experiments, I made certain not to appear tired as to not let Ebon know what I was testing for during the session. Continuing, I casted the spell with relative ease and after the "transference" Ebon was taken aback with fatigue that I accumulated throughout the day and asked what I had done to the spell. I informed him of what I had done differently to see if the spell would reflect such a change.

Subsequent tests involved the unpleasantness of sustaining physical harm from physical and magickal sources. To our surprise, the spell not only transferred the pain, but also similar wounds from respective sources of spells. One thing that Ebon noted was that Basunic and Esunic status changes, as well as aura enhancements did not get transferred. Only directly associated traits with target's own natural being are affected by the spell.

Normally, white magick is not an area one would consider to have offensive capabilities, especially considering that black magick has been stated before as to be designated for offensive properties of magick. However, there are few spells that fall under this category in the domain of white magick. While black magick has spells such as Drain and Osmose to replenish lost energy, physical or mana respectfully. Thanks to the spell being crafted by this white mage, the Swap spell has been categorized and attributed to white magick. True to white magick, this spell cannot kill but still used as a means of incapacitating an opponent.

The engergies between us are not secure, what is yours is mine and mine now yours. Swap!"

This spell is very situational; what energy that is swapped cannot be contained beyond the capacity of the recipient. In a way, a person with a low capacity for vitality or endurance can never retain the energy of a target with a high capacity, instead the maximum energy retainable by the recipient is held onto. However, the excess energy is dispersed and therefore removed from potential foes. Because of this, it is sometimes advisable to use it on the strongest of foes to quickly diminish their health, due to the fact that those types of opponents will not fair with the amount of vitality you exchanged with them. This strategy comes at a cost because the contrary holds true with spellcasters such as us. If one does choose to use Swap on warrior type opponents, one must be prepared for a significantly diminished mana supply.

This spell certainly is not an opening action against magickal foes. However, I have found it to be more useful for mages in in another specific scenario in which the caster is running low on mana. Though it is a desperate gambit to attempt on enemy mages, it can turn the tide in a clash of the elements.

Though the spells that have been covered throughout this series are indeed exceptional, there are some spells that are beyond the types of spells in books up until this point. These spells are for the masterful practitioners of magick.

Iv, High White Mage

(Well, it has certainly been a long time now hasn't it? Readers old and new alike, I hope you enjoy my return to complete this work. Less than 10 chapters/spells remain.)


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